Wodak prioritizes experience, racing world's best before London Marathon debut

Concern about running a hilly course after tweaking a gluteal muscle near the end of a recent workout was a non-issue for Vancouver's Natasha Wodak, who was affected more by the cold and wind in Sunday's New York City Half Marathon.

Her time of one hour 12 minutes 33 seconds was nearly three minutes off her 1:09:41 best that once stood as a Canadian record. Kenya's Hellen Obiri, the Olympic and world championships medallist, was also three minutes off her best but still managed to break the event record in 1:07:21.

Wodak placed eighth among the women's elite athletes, one spot lower than last year when the 41-year-old covered the 21.1-kilometre distance in 1:10:01.

"Not my best, not my worst," is how Wodak summed up Sunday's performance on Instagram. "It was really windy, really cold. Did my best to do what I could on a day when I didn't feel great."

The fact New York isn't a record-eligible course silenced talk of Wodak trying to regain the 1:09:38 Canadian mark Andrea Seccafien wrested away three years ago.

Wodak told CBC Sports earlier in the week Sunday was more about how she competed against some of the world's top runners, including three-time event champion Molly Huddle of the United States and her teammate Des Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion.

Linden placed fifth in 1:12:21, only 12 seconds in front of Wodak and two spots ahead of Huddle (1:12:27) during her journey that began in Brooklyn, over the Manhattan Bridge, through Times Square and ended in Central Park.

"There were parts of the race where I was fifth, sixth, seventh. Unfortunately, in the last mile I didn't quite have enough to get in one of those spots," said Wodak, who won $500 US in prize money for her performance. "It was pretty cool to