Athletic Brewing is one of the world’s best companies and their products, great tasting non-alcoholic brews, have been surfacing across Canada at the country’s best races. Before the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Athletic Brewing asked athletes Why they iRun, and promised fifteen winners a six pack of Athletic Brewing, a race bib, AB singlet and $50 gift card to BlackToe Running. These athletes will be keeping a log of their progress and here we share a snippet as to why they iRun — maybe these stories will also ring true to you.
Jorge Suarez
Running is the ultimate happy hour. Not only have I found so many friends that I’ve trained with, ran races with, and just bonded with; running is a social sport. It brings all cultures, and all types of people together. You often find yourself hanging out after a long run and just enjoying each other’s company. Athletic Brewing is a perfect way to enjoy the social aspect of the drink, while staying healthy mentally and physically. It’s the ultimate happy hour.
Melissa Sweet
In September 2019 I sold all of my belongings, except what would fit in my Corolla, and drove myself to BC. I didn’t know anyone here and I hadn’t even been to BC before! I had big plans! I was looking to meet new people and have new experiences. Then COVID happened. I was locked down on my own since I was alone and didn’t have a ‘bubble.’ My only escape was to hit the trails and start exploring. As fun as exploring is, I wasn’t able to meet anyone and was still always on my own. I decided to join a trail running group and soon these runners became my west coast family. They knew I was on my own and they made me feel like part of their group right away. Running—and the running community—became my escape from the tragic things happening around me. The running community brought light into my life and made me feel less lonely. It didn’t take long before I was signing up for races and now far into my running journey I ran my first ultra marathon! I haven’t looked back. There are times when I don’t want to run, but I do it and I always feel better. I’m not sure if it’s the running or the community, but I’m going to keep putting one foot in front of the other for as long as I can.
Kelly Reid
I initially started running because I felt purposeless in my job, and I thought let’s choose a big goal and I went with a marathon. It felt difficult but achievable, and would give me purpose. It did the trick. I started out racing 5k’s and moved through to half marathons and now I am about 12 weeks out from my first marathon. I am excited and nervous! It has been a journey of agony and ecstasy—it’s helped my mental health. I suffered from a knee injury. I discovered a community of cool runners through a plan I purchased on instagram (Aimvirtual). I cried happy tears after my first half marathon and I think I’ve inspired some people along the way to strive for their Athletic goals. The last part is my favourite.
Logan Freeman
I started running after my father passed away from alcoholism. He used to run marathons and struggled to maintain sobriety and passed at age 60. I myself have been sober for ten years and picked up my running shoes once my partner got pregnant. I’m now a father of a 16-month-old, the youngest of four boys. My oldest two brothers have successfully done the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I run to stay connected to my roots, to nature and to people.
Cheryl Kosowan
I’m a 65-year-old woman who has run off and on most of my life. So my reasons have changed as I’ve aged—exercise, sport, competition—but in the last few years with retirement (and aging), I’ve come to realize how good it makes me feel in my head and heart. A strong sense of accomplishment partnered with camaraderie makes for many happy moments in my life. I’ve only run outside of Saskatchewan in one race, Sinister 7, so would love to run in another destination race!
Tim Hartley
I want to slow down getting slower—as a runner, as a dad, as a spouse, as an aging adult. In my work in a Cardiac Rehabilitation program I was shocked the first time I encountered a patient the same age as me, surely I’m too young for that?! Well, first, heart disease encompasses a huge spectrum of illnesses, some of which can present at birth, so no, one is never too young. And second, yep, I’m the same age as many of our patients in Cardiac Rehabilitation. One of the best predictors of mortality (death) and morbidity (illness) is functional capacity—fitness, or VO2peak. A larger and larger proportion of the Canadian population is becoming less and less active, and as we age, our functional capacity tends to decline: starting from a progressively more sedentary baseline, things are looking bleak. I’m happy I found the iRun community.
Heather Taylor
I started running as a way to adopt healthier habits and find a more positive outlet for my emotions. In the past, I would turn to less healthy choices when I felt lonely, bored, or stressed. But once I began running, I discovered a powerful tool that helps me manage all my emotions in a constructive way. It didn’t take long before I fell in love with running—there’s something incredibly freeing about it. Now, I can’t imagine my life without it. I’m excited to challenge myself and take this journey to the next level by participating in my first marathon, the TCS Toronto Waterfront. It’s a milestone that marks how far I’ve come, and I can’t wait to cross that finish line.
Martha Lukowicz
I am a mama to three young kids aged 8, 6 and 2. iRun as a way to take back personal time in my life separate from raising my kiddos, and to focus on my mental health as well as see what I can achieve when I challenge myself. I had three kids in five years and it was really only after my third child that I started to get back into running more seriously again after so many years dedicated to my career and raising a family. Running was always a huge part of my life in high school, the good old track days and cross country races are some of my best memories from my teens. This was all basically put on the back burner after high school and for a long time I would only casually run for fun as a way to deal with stress. When kids came along it was even harder to find time to carve out for myself! I’m so glad I picked up running again, my first goal after kid number three was the TCS half marathon in 2022, and I finally built up the courage to run my first marathon with TCS waterfront in 2023 which was truly such an awesome experience (and somehow managed to come out with a BQ!) Fingers crossed I will run Boston in 2025.
Catherine Lin
The reason iRun has constantly been evolving in the past decade. I started running as a means to escape from the stress of being a student during my undergraduate years. Running had been just part of my gym workout which was my version of self care. Over the years, I started running outside and began to enjoy the act of running. It made me feel stronger, happier, carefree, and curious. I loved how accessible running was and how quickly I could see progress. I remember signing up for my first half marathon race and the euphoric feeling I experienced after crossing that finish line. Since then, I signed up for more races as a way to challenge myself and to prove to myself that I can do hard things. Running has taught me to be more resilient and brave especially during difficult times. I run to connect with myself, others and my environment. Running has allowed me to explore my surroundings and create meaningful connections with the community. I’ve met so many friends through running and they constantly inspire me to be the best version of myself. My number one rule for running is to have fun and that’s why iRun.
Katie Wong
I run to improve my mental health. While on occasion, I am able to hit the right rhythm to achieve the runner’s high, I prefer to use running as a stress test. It’s an opportunity for me to understand how I handle emotional and physical stress by enduring the same challenge daily. Through repetition, I am able to build confidence, resilience and awareness. Some days are better than others, but I never regret a run once it’s over and I always learn something new about myself!
Jen Savage
Running brings me peace, empowerment, mental strength, resilience, and energy. Running is almost like therapy. It brings me stillness and calmness mentally. It quiets my head and it’s just me and my breath. I’m not a treadmill runner, so it helps bring me to nature. Anything that stresses me goes away. After a run I have so much energy. On the other hand, It shows me what my body can do and I can push myself by setting a goal. There’s nothing like the happiness you feel when you achieve that PB you worked hard for. A lot of things can happen on a run or race and it really teaches you how to be resilient by not giving up.
Why do I Run by Kalpana Chouhan
1. Helps me keep fit and healthy.
2. Meet a bunch of happy, smiling faces and build relationships, too.
3. Running makes me know how strong I am and make me feel more confident about myself.
4. It gives me my me time and the energy to think about all the things I want to do in my life.
Tascha Piciga
I’ve been a runner all of my life and continue to run when I can both on the road and in the trails. For me, running creates a sense of freedom, the one time in the day when I unplug. I don’t listen to music, I listen to the sounds of nature and outdoors and just breathe and unload. It has helped me cope with anxiety, life challenges, and has allowed me to prioritize myself and my mental health and well-being. I have worked at Sick Kids on the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, specifically with youth struggling with eating disorders, self harm and suicidal ideation, anxiety, depression and various other mental health struggles, and I’m now also a registered psychotherapist. I share my adventures, racing, running, and love for fitness as a means to empower and inspire the kids to use a holistic approach to treatment which includes getting and staying active to promote their own health. Running is my zen, keeps that spring in my step every day and puts a smile on my face! Pick me so I can add this race to my list of inspiration for my clients and for myself to train and work toward.
Pam Bottos
iRun because running saved my life. I have always run. I started racing 5 and 10’s in my 20’s. The marathons came and I qualified for Boston. After the Boston Marathon in 2012, I was the fittest I had ever been. Then, I had a heart episode that mimicked a heart attack. A series of tests revealed a serious heart condition that I had been born with. My cardiologist was quite impressed with the health of my heart. I even volunteered to help medical students at McMaster study it. All that running had helped my heart adapt to my condition and prolonged the inevitable episode that I had experienced. My heart is strong and healthy, monitored every two years. My surgery continues to be pushed into the future. I run because I can. I plan to run into my hundreds—with a new heart valve along the way.
Matt Tribe
Since childhood I’ve always struggled to concentrate and focus. I received my ADHD diagnosis in my late teens and struggled with the side-effects of the medication I was given to help. It was around this time when I started getting more serious with my running being a part of the University Cross Country team and the more structured and higher volume of training. I started noticing that running gave me an outlet to burn off my energy and that my focus and attention on my studies afterwards were far stronger. Over time thanks in part to other coping mechanisms I would develop and I believe thanks to in part to my daily runs I was able to stop taking any medication altogether.
I’ve continued to run regularly over the years and even increased in distance to events beyond the marathon. I find that I can use my time running to meditate or iterate around a problem I’m facing at work or in life. I always find that after a run I am more present in the moment and either more focused at work or a better husband and father at home. So, basically iRun because it makes me a better person and a better husband and father.
Hi irun.ca admin, Thanks for the well-organized post!