Bytown Walkers Club de marche
Is proud to present our fourth annual
“Fall Classic” Race Walks 2025
(featuring Athletics Ontario’s 20km Race Walk Championships)

Changes for 2025:  Please note the new day – Sunday!  The bad news is that one of Lansdowne Park’s co-owners (with priority access) recently decided to schedule an activity on the Great Lawn on the date we had booked. The good news is that, in compensation, they offered us the Sunday, the day we had always preferred.

Sunday, September 21, 2025                Lansdowne Park, Ottawa

Lansdowne Park is a major entertainment and commercial venue not far from downtown Ottawa. The main access roads are Bank Street and Queen Elizabeth Driveway (along the Rideau Canal)
Support facilities:  Washrooms just inside the main (east) door of the Aberdeen Pavilion, close to the start/finish line on the Great Lawn. Depending on the weather, the registration and “Race HQ” will be either outside the door or in the small lobby inside.
Parking:      We recommend the large parking lot beneath the stadium (because above-ground parking on site is limited in quantity and in time). Access either from Bank Street or from Queen Elizabeth Driveway. If you park in the east of the lot, the stairs will bring you up adjacent to the Great Lawn.
The “National Capital Race Walk Course”; a 1250m lap, combining the Great Lawn and adjacent pathways, courtesy of the City Of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission (NCC).
Schedule: 09h00:  Start, 20km, 10km, and High School Challenge (1250m)                                                                                                                                                  10h00:  Start, 5km start
(World Athletics (WA) judging for 20km and 10km. Common Sense Judging (CSJ) in the 5km only.  CSJ rules attached.)
High School Challenge:  The High School Challenge is for teams of up to five athletes**. Team scoring is much the same as a cross-country race: the finishing positions of the top three on each team are added together, with the lowest total winning. Ties in team scores are broken by the higher placing third athlete. Schools may enter more than one team.
** Note that a team of only three gives no scoring options if one athlete does not finish.

Entry: Deadline: Monday, September 15, 2025: 12h00 (EDT).  No Day of Race Registration.
Fee: 20km, 10km $50.00 5km $25.00 High School Challenge – no entry fee     (HS Challenge athletes may also enter the 5km if they wish, but they must submit an individual entry form and pay the fee.)
E-mail entries to walkabout@bytownwalkers.ca.  Subject line “Fall Classic Entry”. Please include only the race entered, your name, address, phone number and date of birth. You will sign the actual form and waiver when you arrive.
Clubs may pay for all their entries by club cheque on arrival. Individuals are asked to pay by e-transfer to treasurer@bytownwalkers.ca within 24 hours of sending your entry. Use the same address if you wish to request another arrangement for payment. Entries will be confirmed by email once payment has been arranged.
More Information: Please contact roger@bytownwalkers.ca until August 31, 2025 and registrar@bytownwalkers.ca thereafter.

Directions: Lansdowne Park is on Bank Street, adjacent to the Rideau Canal. Most visitors will enter the city on Highway 417. Take Exit 119 (Metcalfe Street). Then:                                             – if coming from the west, continue straight along Isabella Street to Elgin Street.                  – if coming from the east, make three right turns to go under the highway to Elgin Street.
From Elgin, turn right onto Queen Elizabeth Driveway and follow the Canal to Lansdowne. Access either from Queen Elizabeth Driveway or from Bank Street.
If you are coming across the river from Gatineau, please note that your normal route to Lansdowne may be affected by road closures downtown because of a major road race.
Accommodation:   Lansdowne Park is a major entertainment venue but it is not well served by hotels. While it is not far from downtown, perhaps allowing for a pleasant warm-up/cool-down walk (no more than 3km) along the Rideau Canal, note that a major road race is also being held on the morning of Sunday 21. The venues do not overlap, but downtown hotel bookings may be at a premium – we recommend reserving sooner rather than later.
***
“Common Sense Judging” (CSJ) Rules

(1) Walking is defined by unbroken contact with the ground:  one foot must be seen by the judges to be in clear contact with the ground at all times.  (“Clear contact” is when each foot is seen to remain on the ground as the body moves forward. In running, the foot attempts to leave the ground immediately after contact.)

(2) The leg is seen by the judges to be straight or significantly straightened, at the knee when the foot touches the ground.  (In running, the leg is bent at the knee when it hits the ground in order to provide the instantaneous drive back into the air. The absolutely straight leg of strict Race Walking is not required in “common sense” rules, since it requires a skill that some need time to acquire. But everyone can try to straighten it.)

(3) Above all, the idea is to walk. Attempts to adapt jogging to this “common sense” definition look contrived, are obvious to judges, and will be penalized. Penalties may include disqualification.

Bytown Walkers Club de marche

 

“Fall Classic” Race Walks
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Great Lawn, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa

Individual Entry Form – 5km/10km/20km

Name_______________________________________ Gender:        Birthdate yy______/mm_____ /dd____

Address______________________________________  City  _____________________________  Prov____

Postal Code ______________Telephone______________________E-mail _______________________

 

Club _________________________________________________________         AC / CMAnumber ____________

 

Event  (Check One)

09h00               20km Ontario Championships; WA Judging only
09h00               10km;  WA Judging only
10h00    ______  5km  _____ WA Judging _____”Common Sense” Judging

Entry Fee: $50.00 for 20km and 10km; $25 for 5km

 

In consideration of the acceptance of my entry, I, the undersigned, intending to be legally bound, for myself, my executors, administrators, and assignees, do hereby waive and release the sponsors of this walk, Bytown Walkers Club de marche, The City of Ottawa, Athletics Ontario, and all persons and agencies connected with this walk from all claims for damages arising from my participation in and travel to and from this event. I also certify that I am physically fit and adequately trained to participate in this competitive walking event.

 

Signature_____________________________                                                     _________

 

Parent or legal guardian’s signature (if under 18)

 

Emergency Contact  (name and phone number) ________________________________________

________________________________________

 

Bytown Walkers Club de marche

“Fall Classic” Race Walks
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Great Lawn, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa

Entry Form – High School Challenge (1250m) – 09h00

School Name____________________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________  City__________________________  Prov_____

Postal Code _________Telephone____________E-mail _________________________________

 

Teacher/Coach/Designated School Representative (must be in attendance at the competition, register the team, and act as the emergency contact for team members).
I certify that all the athletes listed below attend the school, have been selected by the school to participate in this competitive walking event (1250m) and do so with the school’s knowledge and approval.
Name ____________________________________________________________________________

Team members:  (If entering more than one team, please use a separate form for each team)

1     ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬_________________________________________________________________________Gender ____

2      _________________________________________________________________________Gender ____

3      _________________________________________________________________________Gender ____

4      _________________________________________________________________________Gender ____

5      _________________________________________________________________________Gender ____

HS Challenge athletes may also enter the 5km if they wish, but they must submit an individual entry form and pay the fee.

***

In consideration of the acceptance of the school entry, I, the undersigned, intending to be legally bound, for myself, my executors, administrators, and assignees, do hereby waive and release the sponsors of this walk, Bytown Walkers Club de marche, The City of Ottawa, Athletics Ontario, and all persons and agencies connected with this walk from all claims for damages arising from my participation in and travel to and from this event.

 

 

Signature__________________________________________________________________                                                      _

Bytown Walkers Club de marche

“Fall Classic” Statistics

 

2022 October 0229 competitors(5km – 12; 10km – 3; 20km – 9; HS – 5)

(The 2022 course was in Walter Baker Park, Kanata. An excellent 1250m lap, previously approved, had to be cut to 1000m because of a last-minute change required by the facility owner.)

2023 September 30 29 competitors (5km – 17; 10km – 5; 20km – 6; HS – 1)
2024 September 21 38 competitors (5km – 28; 10km – 2; 20km – 4; HS – 4)

(From 2023, we use the “National Capital Race Walk Course” at Lansdowne Park. The outstanding 1250m lap was made possible by considerable cooperation from the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission.)

 

All-Time Best Performances (up to 10 athletes per category)

Men Women
20km

1h46:20 Heath Semeniuk (2023) 1h42:49 Olivia Lundman (2022)
1h48:23 Brian Ó Domnhaill (2024) 2h13:56 Susan Brooke (2022)
1h49:55 Ó Domnhaill (2023) 2h18:08 Brooke (2023)
1h50:39Ó Domnhaill(2022)
1h58:17 JP Xu (2024)

10km

58:13 Elisa Jean (2022)
59:05 Diane Guignard (2024)
63:08 Rosalie St.-Amand (2023)
63:58 Mélanie Morin-Pelletier  (2024)
66:44 Teresa Chiozza (2022)

5km

23:51 Alexandre Henry (2023) 26:40 Geneviève Tremblay (2024)
24:50 Jocelyn Ruest (2023) 28:33 Marina Crivello (2022)
26:43+ Brian Ó Domnhaill (2024) 30:25 Line Falcon (2024)
26:45+ Ruest (2024) 30:48 Susan Brooke (2024)
28:44 Yvan Béchard (2024) 30:53 Falcon (2023)
29:02 François Noël (2024) 31:27 Danaé Guérette-Lang (2023)
29:04** Guillaume Auclair (2024) 32:00 Rosalie St-Amand (2024)
29:11+ JP Xu (2024) 33:13 Nicole Bégin (2024)
30:21 Randy Bullerwell (2024) 33:27 Kim Lachance (2024)
30:21 Béchard (2022) 33:38 Teresa Chiozza (2024)
33:06 Blair Layng (2024) 34:06 Vanessa Johnson (2024)
34:53**Robert Hornung(2023)

+ official 5km time, recorded in 20km race.
**Common Sense Judging