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Calgary's Trevor Hofbauer sets personal-best time at Hamburg Marathon

Trevor Hofbauer, who battled laryngitis and the flu in the weeks leading up to Sunday's Hamburg Marathon, was the 25th man to cross the finish line in Germany in two hours 16 minutes 48 seconds.

Fellow Canadian Reid Coolsaet training for Ottawa Marathon on May 26

Doug Harrison · CBC Sports ·
Trevor Hofbauer, pictured here celebrating his finish as top Canadian at the 2017 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, set a personal-best time of two hours 16 minutes 48 seconds at the Hamburg Marathon in Germany on Sunday. (Getty Images/File)

Trevor Hofbauer was thrilled with his personal-best time in Sunday's Hamburg Marathon, given what the Calgary resident endured in the months leading up to the race.

After battling laryngitis and the flu twice, the 2017 Canadian marathon champion was the 25th man in a strong field to cross the finish line in Germany in two hours 16 minutes 48 seconds.

The qualifying standard for the men's marathon at the world track and field championships in September is 2:16:00, so Hofbauer has put himself in a strong position to make the Canadian squad.

In March, the 2018 national half marathon champion clocked 1:07:31 to place 28th at the New York City half marathon.

Tadu Abate won the men's race in Hamburg in 2:08:25.

Coolsaet recovers from illness, back injury

Hofbauer had planned to run Hamburg with Reid Coolsaet, his former Speed River Track Club teammate in Guelph, Ont., but the latter withdrew from the event after getting behind in his training due to illness and a back injury.

Coolsaet, who has been training in Colorado since February, did announce Monday he would race May 26 at the Ottawa Marathon, site of the two-time Olympian's debut marathon in 2009.

The Hamilton resident has only run four spring marathons since: Rotterdam in 2013, London in 2014, 2015 in Rotterdam and last year in Boston, where the 39-year-old Coolsaet finished ninth in the men's race in 2:25:02.

Hamilton's Reid Coolsaet plans to compete in the Ottawa Marathon on May 26 after he withdrew from Sunday's Hamburg Marathon in Germany after falling behind in training due to illness and a back injury. (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images/File)
He was 10th overall among men in 2:17:36 and the second Canadian to finish the Toronto Waterfront Marathon last October when Cam Levins set the national men's record.

In 2017, Coolsaet was sidelined four months with osteonecrosis in the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot, a potentially career-threatening disease caused by reduced blood flow to bones in the joints.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Doug Harrison

Doug Harrison has covered the professional and amateur scene as a senior writer for CBC Sports since 2003. Previously, the Burlington, Ont., native covered the NHL and other leagues for Faceoff.com. Follow the award-winning journalist @harrisoncbc

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