The Super Bowl is television’s most watched event. In Canada, the country’s coming together to root on Connor McDavid in Edmonton. The NBA Finals start tomorrow night. All team sports, all prime time: all played by millionaire men.
Malindi Elmore is a 44-year-old mother of two and on August 11, she’s running the Olympic Marathon for her country. Running, which we’ve done forever – endurance hunting our dinner in prehistoric time before we even had spears – is booming. Half a million marathoners want 50,000 slots for November’s TCS New York Marathon. Running is sport’s Taylor Swift. Yet the Caitlin Clarke of running, three-time Olympian, owner of five of the ten fastest women’s marathons in Canadian history, salt of the earth superstar, doesn’t chat with Jimmy Kimmel and Drake doesn’t show up at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon to watch her race.
I want that to change on Global Running Day.
In Canada, we have our own Kipchoge, knocking out kilometres in Kelowna while advocating for women’s sport, equal pay and the mental health benefits of exercise. After winning last month’s Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa, Elmore is crossing the Atlantic to outlast her (younger) peers. Global Running Day felt insipid. Something like Taco Tuesday, an algorithmic ploy to sell bullshit. But if we use today to pump up Malindi and the marathon – the hardest solo endeavour in sport – practiced by millions of Canadians, millions of women, millions of moms, I’m down.
Let’s get behind Malindi and watch her compete in Paris, even though the Women’s Olympic Marathon begins at 2am August 11, Eastern Standard Time. With MILO, we’re hosting a Midnight Rally iRun and screening party in Toronto, viewed online across the country, capturing cheers so loud from runners in Canada that Malindi will hear us in France.
To sign up for the iRun Running Rally and Malindi Marathon Viewing Party, please register here.
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