The Independent Staff

Krista DuChene will run the marathon for Canada in Rio next month. The Brooke-Central Public School and LCCVI graduate, who now lives in Brantford, was one of 65 athletes recently nominated by Athletics Canada to compete in the Games.

DuChene’s personal best in the marathon is 2:28.32 set at the Waterfront Marathon in Toronto in 2013.

She also holds the third best half-marathon time in Canada this season.

After breaking her femur in 2014, she missed both the Commonwealth and Pan Am Games, but qualified for the Games by reaching the Olympic qualifying standard at a marathon in Rotterdam in April 2015.

In a recent interview with The Independent, Duchene credited her father with instilling in her a good attitude for sports. “If you’re having fun and really trying – that’s good. I knew winning wasn’t always the best outcome. Some of my greatest races were not my fastest times.”

And she says she’s following her dad’s advice and enjoying the process of getting to the Olympics. “The race itself usually hurts; it’s the training that I love.” The women’s marathon in Rio is set for August 14.