Moh Ahmed has spent nearly 20 years competing on a track, but says he’s always been intrigued by the team aspect of cross-country running.
In his junior season at the University of Wisconsin, a 19-year-old Ahmed helped the Badgers to the 2011 NCAA title on his way to claiming All-American distinction four times.
“The thing I rank the highest in my career is probably that title,” said the now 35-year-old Ahmed, who became Canada’s first Olympic 5,000-metre medallist in 2021 with silver in Tokyo, two years after earning world championship bronze.
He was also a five-time NCAA All-American in track and Big Ten outdoor conference champion in 2010 (10,000m) and 2012 (5,000) “but one of my fondest memories is that 2011 season and the journey we had.
“There’s nothing like competing for conference and national titles with some of your best buddies. I rank it the highest because I share it with six other dudes [and] the guys who didn’t make the final roster for Big 10 championships and [NCAA] finals.”
Ahmed, who was inducted into the U. of Wisconsin Hall of Fame last September, is ready for his next title pursuit, leading Canada in the men’s senior 10-kilometre race at his fourth World Athletics Cross-Country Championships on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.
The St. Catharines, Ont., native will be joined on the start line at 12:20 p.m. ET by Xavier Perras-Phaneuf (LaSalle, Que.), Santiago Gaitan (Welland, Ont.), Matt Talbot (Ailsa Craig, Ont.), Evan Burke (Kearney, Ont.) and Philippe Morneau-Cartier (La Pocatière, Que.).
Live coverage of the World Athletics Cross-Country Championships will be available on CBC Gem and CBCSports.ca on Saturday at 9:45 a.m. ET.
That was the order of finish on Nov. 29 at the national championships in London, Ont., with Ahmed collecting his first event title on grass. He took control in the open men’s 10K about two km from the finish on a partially snow-covered course and won in 29 minutes 30.4 seconds at Fanshawe Golf Course.
The top four athletes will score for each team in Tallahassee, where 20 countries have at least four athletes entered.
Canadian track star Moh Ahmed set for his 1st race at cross-country worlds since 2013
“I’m the oldest guy by 10 years,” a laughing Ahmed told CBC Sports this week. “It’s kind of cool to be part of this team because this is the next generation of athletes that hopefully will be the best Canadian athletes over the next few years.
“It’s early in the season so I don’t know what my [true] fitness is. I think I’m at a good spot and I’m a more gifted athlete aerobically, so I’m excited about fighting for the team and trying to finish as high as possible.”
Ahmed, who is renegotiating his contract with Nike, added a left calf strain that forced an early exit at the Canadian track and field championships and his seventh worlds last summer hasn’t been a problem in training. It tightened at cross-country nationals and “every now and then gets tight” but improved following two sessions with Canadian physiotherapist Marilou Lamy.
Ahmed’s 2025 campaign also featured an Achilles tendon injury and an adductor issue and back spasms that prevented Ahmed from making his debut in the half marathon. Ahmed was also hampered by hamstring ailments and a virus that knocked him out of training for the month of June.
“It’s not an indication of a decline [in my running ability]. It was just a fluke year,” he said. “There’s many more years and great races ahead.”
Ahmed says track racing or the marathon are options for the 2028 Olympics
Tallahassee is hosting worlds for the first time since 1992 and the event will feature 485 athletes from 52 countries. Races will be contested at Apalachee Regional Park, which has hosted over 75 national, state and local championships since 2012.
Canada also has athletes entered in the women’s senior 10 km, men’s U20 8 km, women’s U20 6 km and mixed 4×2 km relay.
Mixed 4×2 km relay (9:45 a.m.) — Foster Malleck, Jean-Simon Desgagnés, Kate Current, Regan Yee.
Women’s U20 6 km (10:20 a.m.) — Adrianna Buitelaar, Kayley Torrie, Eleanor Voykin, Zoe Mosher, Athena Andrecyk, Riley Innes.
Men’s U20 8 km (10:55 a.m.) — Chase Capes, Brody Clark, William Scharf, Oliver Crowe, Saul Taler, Eli Torrie.
Women’s senior 10 km (11:35 a.m.) — Ceili McCabe, Chloe Thomas, Florence Caron, Grace Featherstonhaugh, Makenna Fitzgerald, Glynis Sim.
The women’s senior team performed the strongest for Canada two years ago, placing eighth, followed by the U20 women (ninth), senior men (11th) and U20 men (13th).
Saturday’s course has been redesigned with challenges that embody Tallahassee and Florida. According to the WTXL-TV Tallahassee website, sand and water on the course will represent the city and state’s beaches and lakes and mud for the Everglades. Runners will run through a mock-up of the historic Florida Capitol, encounter roller-coaster hills and “alligators” made of carved trees.
“It’s going to be hard and the [competition] field looks good. There are challenging portions,” said Ahmed, fresh off an altitude training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. “My brother [Ibrahim] went to Florida State [University] and he knows [the course] well. He’s been advising me a little and he’s going to be [at the race].
“You can prepare and plan but you’ve [also] got to read the race, compete well and see what you’ve got on the day. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Among Ahmed’s many fans is middle-distance runner Foster Malleck of Kitchener, Ont., a member of Canada’s mixed-gender relay team with Jean-Simon Desgagnes (Saint-Ferréol-Les-Neiges, Que.), Kate Current (Cobourg, Ont.) and Regan Yee (South Hazelton, B.C.). They open Saturday’s competition at 9:45 a.m.
“I’ve got a chance to get to know him a little and train with him in Park City [Utah] last June,” Malleck said of Ahmed in an interview with CBC Sports. “An easy-going, fun guy. He’s the ultimate professional and always been my role model.”
Saturday’s race will “set the tone” for Malleck’s indoor season, with a 2,000m race to follow Jan. 24 at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston.
A 1,500m specialist outdoors, the 24-year-old concluded his sixth and final season at Boston University last March with a third-place finish (3:54.42) in the mile at the NCAA indoor championships.
Outdoors in 2025, Malleck’s 3:32.38 performance in the 1,500 at La Classique de Montréal on Aug. 6 earned him a spot with Canada’s world championship team and placed him second among Canadian men all-time in the distance. But in his world semifinal heat, Malleck was tripped up and fell on the second of four laps at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo and he didn’t advance to the final.
Later in August, he captured outdoor gold in the 1,500 at the NACAC Championships in August. Malleck departed Boston University with school records indoors in the 1,609m mile (3:53.82) and 3,000 (7:50.96).
On Saturday, he’d like to run one of the faster legs and put his relay team in the best position for a top-three finish. Kenya was victorious two years ago, followed by Ethiopia and Great Britain.
“I haven’t run a cross-country race in two years,” said Malleck, adding he’s fully recovered from recent injuries to his right Achilles and hip. “I was never the greatest [in college] but that was when I was running 8 and 10 km races. A 2K is more up my alley.
“Hopefully it will help give me momentum entering the indoor track season.”
Malleck turned pro last April and signed a contract with Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore Distance. Teammates Wes Porter and Adam Fogg are his roommates and will be representing the United States and Great Britain, respectively, in Saturday’s relay.
“We have a friendly competition. Definitely a lot of people I want to beat and compete with,” said Malleck, also referring to reigning world bronze medallist Reynold Cheruiyot, who will try to help Kenya to a third straight mixed relay title. “He was running a bit aggressive at worlds [in my heat] and I was getting tangled up with him, so hopefully I get a little [revenge] on him.”
