Career
On October 20, 2013, Marchant set the Canadian women"s marathon record at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, running it in exactly 2:28:00. The middle of seven children (five girls and two boys) from London, Ontario, Canada, her first sport was ice skating. In elementary school she ran as part of her curriculum, and as a great way to cross train for figure skating.
By the time she hit high school, she also saw it as a way to make new friends.
In grade 10, Marchant joined the high school cross-country team, and quickly replaced her skating time with running time. Marchant decided to quit skating the following holiday season, and joined The London Western Track and Field Club.
Marchant kept up her running throughout high school, racing at track meets, and regional championships, eventually earning a scholarship to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In 2007, after representing the Mocs for 4 seasons, Marchant graduated from UTC with an economics pre law degree.
She moved on to law school at the University of Ottawa, and Michigan State University, graduating in May 2011 with two law degrees.
lieutenant was during this time that she turned her focus towards road racing, and developed an affinity for the open road. With a hefty work load, and ever increasing mileage, she has claimed "the tenacity I draw on to run marathons was forged during this time". Marchant studied law at Michigan State University where she also ran.
Marchant placed fourth at the Canadian 10k championships in 2011.
The same year, she clocked a 2:44 at the Chicago Marathon. In 2012, Marchant finished the Rotterdam Marathon with a time of 2:31:50.
While Marchant"s time met the IAAF qualifying standard of 2:37, it did not meet the Canadian Olympic "A" standard of 2:29:55, so she was not eligible to represent Canada at the 2012 London Olympics. A subsequent appeal was denied by Athletics Canada.
In 2013, Marchant represented Canada in the women"s marathon at the 14th IAAF World Championships in Moscow.
She finished in 44th place with a time of 3:01:51, citing intense heat, and humidity as causative factors. Suffering from intense leg cramps, she repeatedly stabbed her leg with a safety pin in an attempt to correct her condition. lieutenant did not work. Also in 2014, at the Tom King Half-Marathon, Marchant clocked a Canadian half-marathon record time of 1:10:47.
Marchant was inducted into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Hall of Fame on February 20, 2015.