London women capture major titles in Forest City Road Races in support of Children’s Centre

Local women took home titles at this year's 2026 Forest City Road Races titles.

Two of the most accomplished female runners in London’s history crossed the finish line in first place at the 44th annual Forest City Road Races (FCRR).

Olympian Lanni Marchant won the 10-kilometre race and former U20 Pan Am Games winner Charlotte Prouse took the half-marathon on a humid morning in London, Ont.

Prouse finished the 21.0975 kilometre run at 1:18:07.

“Any time you get to race at home and on the roads, it’s super special,” said Prouse, 29 a London Central grad.

“Growing up here, I got to literally run by my house and where I grew up as well. So, it’s awesome to get to do it with the community and the people of London out there cheering me up hard cause it’s hilly, it’s not easy and definitely humid today.”

Prouse graduated with her master’s degree and completed her NCAA career in 2021. She took some downtime to focus on her mental health and then had ankle surgery in 2023.

“I have been slowly getting back to transitioning from the Steeplechase to the longer distances and it’s good to be back and hopefully just the beginning of a new chapter in my career,” said Prouse.

“Every little step since I’ve had surgery is a win and I’m just taking those along the way and just building a really good foundation to kind of get back to where I have always dreamed of being and hopefully making an Olympic team.”

It’s something Lanni Marchant achieved in 2016. The 42-year-old is still running at an elite level, taking the 10K race in a time of 34:45.

She defended her 2025 title in her third appearance in the FCRR.

“I love any time I can come back and compete in Canada and then especially in my hometown,” Marchant said after the run.

“It’s a tough course because you go up this hill by UCC (Western University). It’s right at 5K and you’re still climbing. That one’s always a bit of a soul biter, but you get that nice downhill, and there’s so much crowd support that it makes it bearable, at least.”

The FCRR has become a major draw for elite athletes in Canada. The prize money is in line with top races in the country.

The half-marathon winners receive $2,000, the 10K champions get $1,000, and the 5K champ takes home $500.

“We are very proud that we have some of the biggest prize money in Canada,” said Shauna Versloot, FCRR race director.

“Our half marathon is Athletics Canada sanctioned and we have runners traveling from all around the country in the world to compete.”

That prize money is something which drew Prouse home.

“It’s unheard of that a race in Canada has this has this type of prize money that isn’t an Athletics Canada road championship or a marathon,” said Prouse.

“It’s really awesome that London is drawing in a really excellent race and has a good lump of change. Times are expensive and it’s a great hourly wage that I wish I could make more often.”

With close to 4,000 competitors, they are bringing in more money for their charity beneficiary, which is the Thames Valley Children’s Centre (TVCC).

“This is TVCC’s largest community fundraising event of the year,” said TVCC CEO Paul Howarth.

“All the funds raised go to support our organization so that we can help more clients. We work with children to have physical, communication, and autism needs. This allows us to go beyond what the government gives us and do extra work for our community. Our clients are here today supporting running, walking, rolling, helping at the finish line, handing out medals.”

To enhance the vibe in Victoria Park, the organizing team has tripled the size of the Backroads Brews and Shoes Beverage

Garden, and the RBC Wealth Management stage had music all weekend.

Other winners on Sunday include Jeremy Coughler of Thamesford, Ont., who defended his 10K title in a time of 29:43. Andrew Peverill of Lower Sackville won the Men’s Half-marathon in 1:07.12.

The 5K winners were Matt Talbot (Ailsa Craig, Ont.) at 14:15 and Kara Blair (Westport, Ont.) at 16.59.

“It was perfect conditions and I knew I wanted to run a fast pace,” said Taylor.

“It’s a challenging course. It starts off downhill and then the last 1,500 is like, a slight uphill. Luckily, I could hang on to the last 1,500.”