A Few Feelings Before Race Day from the Athletic Brewing Race Team

Jen Savage sums up the race day emotions pretty well in her last race day report. “I’m excited to try and complete something I never thought I could,” she tells iRun, as she prepares for her first half marathon this Sunday at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. “I’m not really a long distance runner and I have a medical condition which impacts my throat. Due to that, I won’t able to do gels during the race which makes fuelling tricky. This will be a big rewarding challenge for me to show that I can overcome challenges. I’m really excited for all the energy everyone will bring on Sunday.”

Athletic Brewing has helped train fifteen athletes and we’ve followed them through the course of their journey. The idea behind this series is: what these random fifteen people might be experiencing probably relates to what’s going through your own head right now.

“I’m pushing myself to be my best version,” Jorge Suarez reports. “What motivates me every day? Hard things take time to do. Things that seem impossible to you, take just a little bit longer. Never give up.”

Oftentimes at the magazine, we question why we run. It’s something we also wrestle with as we seek out personal bests and sustainable habits and some sort of routine that provides both mental and physical health. Running, engaging with the sport over the long-term, requires discipline and delayed gratification and sacrifice. Oftentimes we seek out pain. So why do it?

“I run because I can,” Pamela Bottos, pictured up top, told us. “I relish the challenge and the journey leading up to race day. All the early morning runs, the weight lifting at the gym, the cross training all accumulate to this day. Your body and your mind are fully charged with a variety of emotions. This year, I will race for my brother who lost his life to brain cancer last August. He always loved a good challenge. I run because I can.”

Ultimately, that’s the message I always come back to: I run because I can. And I love the idea that race day is just a celebration of your training. And, even if your training went sideways—life, we all know, can sometimes get in the way—race day can also be a time to celebrate life. You’re outdoors. You’re exercising. You’re amongst likeminded people all working hard to fulfill their own variation of the same dream: crossing that finish line and, indeed, preparing for whatever comes next. At iRun, we thank Athletic Brewing for such a great program and for making a product that we truly love. Non-alcoholic drinks have become a huge part of my training and it feels good to drink less and it’s something that makes me feel proud.

Thanks to everybody on our Athletic Brewing race squad for being so awesome, and good luck to everyone, everywhere, doing hard things. We’ll leave the last words to Athletic Brewing athlete Martha Lukowicz. “I’m feeling super pumped for race day and ready to dig deep! Knowing that my three kids and husband will be there along the course cheering me on is keeping me motivated during this taper while I take it easy and eat like it’s my job,” says Martha, pictured above. “I’m lucky to have my husband be so supportive during this journey and many Saturdays dedicated to long runs and I’m running and fundraising to raise awareness for melanoma and other skin cancers which has personally affected my family, so this one is for my sister and my momma. I can’t wait—let’s gooooo!!!!”

Athletic Brewing’s street team will be out in Toronto between 3pm and 7pm at King and Bay Streets on October 16 and October 17, and at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. If you’ve never tried their product, now is your chance.