Quebec athletes have been unimaginable to disregard this spring, and behind a lot of these successes is Coach Félix-Antoine Lapointe, who says the philosophy driving Quebec’s current distance-running dominance is surprisingly easy: consistency.
“Consistency is essential,” Lapointe, the pinnacle coach on the Provincial Centre of Excellence in Athletics in Quebec and provincial head coach at Athlétisme Quebec, advised Canadian Working. “I’m not a coach the place I need to get one loopy week after which not with the ability to be constant within the following days and weeks. In my program, there’s a steadiness between mileage and high quality work.”
Runners from Quebec all had very robust performances at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend final month. Thomas Fafard took nationwide 10K silver, Élissa Legault was the primary Canadian girls’s finisher within the marathon and Jade Bérubé made a 2:36 marathon debut; all three are coached by Lapointe. La Malbaie, Que.’s Florence Caron additionally dominated the Canadian 10K Championships in her debut on the distance.
Lower than two weeks later, Caron and Fafard each took on the 10-km distance once more, this time on the monitor for the Canadian 10,000m Championships, with Caron successful her third profession nationwide title and Fafard claiming his first.
So what are Lapointe and the Quebec system doing proper?
A easy philosophy
In 2024, after 14 years as head cross-country coach at Université Laval, Lapointe stepped away and took on the positions with the Provincial Centre of Excellence in Athletics in Quebec and Athlétisme Quebec.
Laval head cross-country coach transferring on after 14 years
For Lapointe, success comes from discovering the proper steadiness of high quality and amount for every athlete and stacking weeks of constant coaching. “We wish the athletes to return excited and ready for his or her key periods on the monitor,” Lapointe stated. “Simple days are simple to ensure that athletes to have the ability to work onerous and have faith on onerous days.”
Over time, Lapointe has realized that whereas the identical coaching doesn’t work for all athletes, it’s at all times key to have a look at the long run course of, prioritize each onerous work and relaxation, be constant, and ensure the athlete enjoys the method and has enjoyable.
Enjoyment and longevity
Lapointe believes enjoyment is without doubt one of the most ignored components in athlete growth and success. He factors to Olympian Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, whom he coached for 15 years, for instance of an athlete whose longevity was constructed on a wholesome relationship with the game.
“If he was not having fun with it, he would’ve stop earlier,” Lapointe says. “Having enjoyable coming to the monitor is essential for staying within the sport in the long run.” He provides that the identical precept applies at each stage.
What’s subsequent for Quebec athletes?
Fafard will race his second marathon in Chicago in October. He made a 2:10 debut at December’s Marathon Challenge, marking the third-fastest debut by a Canadian. Lapointe believes there may be vital room for enchancment and hopes Fafard can transfer nearer to 2:07 to have a shot on the L.A. 2028 Olympic crew.
Photograph: Kevin Morris
Legault shall be returning to Valencia after her breakthrough 2:29 efficiency in December. “The purpose was to get wholesome, and a couple of:29 was a shock,” Lapointe stated. “Replicating that lead to Ottawa on a slower course is thrilling.” He provides that Legault’s capacity to persistently deal with 160- to 180-km weeks whereas sustaining high quality exercises has been key to her development.
Bérubé is now making ready for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the place the purpose shall be to dip below 2:35. “She anticipated to run 2:35 to 2:40 in Ottawa, and she or he ran 2:36,” Lapointe stated. “Now, she shall be extra ready and extra assured for Toronto.”
Olympic steeplechaser Jean-Simon Desgagnés, one other of Lapointe’s athletes, kicked off his season on Wednesday on the Paavo Nurmi Video games in Turku, Finland, together with his quickest season opener ever: 8:14.85. Lapointe says the Canadian file is excessive on Desgagnés’s radar.
However the success and growth of all Quebec athletes is a precedence. Lapointe says it’s thrilling to see Caron having such an incredible 12 months to date, and he seems ahead to seeing what up-and-coming Quebec athletes Robin Lefebvre and Xavier Perras-Phaneuf have in retailer for 2026.
(Lefebvre is Canada’s third-fastest U20 miler. Perras-Phaneuf owns the Canadian indoor 5,000m file and, at simply 20, positioned second on the 2025 senior cross-country championships.)
Lapointe’s recommendation for all runners
The lesson applies nicely past elite athletes. Lapointe says the runners who discover a steadiness between ambition and delight are those more than likely to remain within the sport lengthy sufficient to attain their largest targets. “When you’ve that motivation, even by means of the ups and downs, you’ll proceed to run and luxuriate in it,” he says.
