Living The Olympic Dream

By: Dylan Wykes

It’s been about a month now since I qualified for the Olympic marathon. The weeks since crossing the line in Rotterdam in 2:10:47 have been unlike anything I’ve experienced previously. Perhaps a small glimpse into the day-to-day life of a professional sports star or movie star.

I suppose I expected a small amount of fanfare after my result, mostly among the small on-line running community in Canada. I never would have imagined the whirlwind that followed in the weeks after the race. I was inundated with interview requests within hours of the race. And that continued for several days. Everything from local newspapers, to international running websites, to the Canadian Press. Most reporters were interested in how I was able to bounce back after the disappointment of dropping out the Lake Biwa Marathon.

I was also overwhelmed with emails and Facebook messages in the days following the race. I’ve literally spent hours every day since trying my best to reply to everyone that sent me a message. I apologize to anyone out there who hasn’t had the chance to say thanks to either via email or in person.

I was able to spend some time with family and friends in Eastern Ontario in the few days after returning from Rotterdam. My former coach, Steve Boyd, organized a really nice party at the Kingston Brew Pub that was a great event and allowed me to catch up with a lot of the people that were important to my success.

Things settled down for a few days and I was able to go on a road trip across the US with my brother that we’d planned a few months prior. Originally we planned to take our time and see some sights. But things kept coming up and in the end we had to put the pedal to the medal to get back to Ontario for a press conference to officially announce the selection of myself, Eric Gillis, and Reid Coolsaet to the Canadian Olympic team.

That event, held in Guelph, was probably when it all finally sunk in that I’d be going to the Olympics – that I’d accomplished something that really only seemed a reality at very minute points in my running career. There we donned our Olympic team jackets, signed autographs for elementary school children, and conducted interviews with numerous newspaper and television outlets. It was a thrilling day. The excitement amongst the little kids and the media alike was very cool. I’ll take this opportunity to apologize to the mothers of the kids whose foreheads I autographed with a permanent marker that day – the kids insisted!

This ‘Hollywood’ lifestyle continued for one more day with a photo shoot for Canadian Running Magazine in Toronto, with Eric and Reid. I’ve only done one or two of these photo shoots previously, but always find it awkward and taxing to stand there and do the same thing over and over again. I’m just glad I’m not beautiful enough to be a model 😉

All the while this was going on I was trying to be good about my recovery from Rotterdam. I took a lot of days off from running but was easing my way back into some light training. I was able to get in for a few massage appointments in the days and weeks after the race. Unfortunately due to the busy schedule it took me a bit longer than normal to get into the pool to pool run – something I like to do when starting back into training after a marathon. But, I’m now back into a regular training routine, with a few of the expected aches and pains lingering from the race. But also with a lot of excitement for the next few months.

After a few weeks in Eastern Ontario, and a few days in Vancouver, my bags are packed again as a head to the rarefied air of Flagstaff, AZ to start training in earnest for the big race on August, 12th.