Natasha Wodak, the Canadian 10,000-meter record holder along with the reigning Pan American Games gold medalist and 2016 Olympian, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal during her 14-day home quarantine to recap her first 26.2-mile race since 2013 and personal-best 2:26:19 to place fifth Dec. 20 at The Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz. Wodak reflects on running the No. 2 time in Canadian history after Malindi Elmore (2:24:50) achieved the national record 11 months earlier in Houston. She analyzes the pursuit for the three spots to represent Canada in Tokyo, which are currently occupied by Elmore, Wodak and Dayna Pidhoresky, who ran 2:29:03 to secure the automatic berth in the qualifying race for the Olympics in Toronto in October 2019. Wodak also looks at the improvement of Canadian women in the marathon in the past two years with half of the top 10 competitors and nine of the top 20 all-time performers in the country's history producing their marks during that span. She also revisits the two-week stretch earlier in the year when Wodak became the first Canadian female athlete to eclipse the 70-minute barrier in the half marathon by clocking 69:41 in January Houston, only to have Andrea Seccafien run 69:38 on Feb. 2 in Japan. Wodak shares how supportive the Canadian women's running community has been throughout her career and how excited she is to race against her peers again in 2021, especially against Seccafien in the 10,000 meters, where she expects both individuals to eclipse her national record of 31:41.59 set at the 2015 Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford. Wodak shares how instrumental the pacing of Nick Hilton and Will Baldwin was in her improving by nearly nine minutes from her last marathon effort seven years ago in Toronto and how significant the training plan of coach Lynn Kanuka was in her preparation. She also shares the confidence gained from running 70:02 in a half marathon Nov. 8, giving Wodak two of the top three times in Canadian history this year. Wodak also reveals how emotional the weeks were ahead of racing in Arizona after learning her cat Sammy had lymphoma and the prospect she faced he wouldn't survive until the end of the year, but she also expresses gratitude over the sterioid prednisone being used for treatment to dramatically improve the animal's condition.