11 Things We Love About the Calgary Marathon

December 19, 2017

On May 24-27, runners across the country will descend upon the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, the country’s longest running marathon which first began on August 10, 1963. If there’s someone on your Christmas list who’s a runner, a bib to this super cool race makes a great gift (actually, denomination aside, a race bib, anywhere, as a present kinda rules). Here’s 11 things we love about the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon.

11. The race offers a 50K ultra. Leave it to the bountiful terrain of Alberta to open itself up so much to us runners.

10. The charity component. Like every race in the Scotiabank portfolio, Calgary Marathon offers runners a chance to compete in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. Running is always worthwhile. Running for someone else is divine.

9. “Race recyclers,” a team of volunteers picking up discarded race debris, is just one of many green initiatives making up the Sustainability Program of the event.

8. Trevor Hofbauer and Emily Setlack, two of Calgary’s finest, are on your next cover of iRun. Trev just won Toronto and Emily took Philadelphia, are Calgarian athletes taking over our sport?

7. Marathon course takes you past the Calgary Zoo and finishes beside the Calgary Stampede. A few different ways to channel your spirit animal.

6. There’s both a family walk and a kid’s marathon. For runners schlepping their children, plenty of family-friendly activities to keep the little ones satisfied.

5. Let’s go back to how old this race is. Did you know, when it first started, that it was run, in its entirety, by 19 men?

4. Calgary is home to an extraordinary amount of cool run crews and race clubs, like YYC Wheezers and Mission District. Want to see a bunch of them in their socks (see page 40)?

3. See for yourself. This is a link to a live broadcast that aired last year on Shaw.

2. The marathon is a Boston qualifier, plus wheelchairs are allowed in every event.

1. The people are friendly, the course is great, the race director, Kirsten Fleming, is totally approachable, open-minded and dedicated to a putting on a top notch event, and this year, all that the race needs is you.

Looking Back: Favourite Running Reads of 2017

Ravi Singh

December 18, 2017

When it comes to studying and reading about running, I have to admit that the conventional technical/training oriented books don’t really do it for me. I’m lucky to work with a great coach who understands me and my goals well enough to help build a training strategy that leads to growth and results. I’m also pretty diligent about dedicating some time to listening to podcasts from leaders in our sport or perusing articles on the fundamentals of training.

Where I’ve often needed a boost is in the mental aspect of training. I know I’m not the only runner who gets so bogged down in the mechanics of goals and training that one starts to view running as a chore rather than a privilege or joy.

What I’ve needed on occasion is to be reinspired and delving into the philosophy, art, history, and curiosities of our sport has always enabled me to enhance and refresh my interest in running.

This isn’t a “Best of 2017” list, but just some of the books that spoke to me this year. Perhaps you’ve come across or read all of them. Either way, if you’re like me, I hope these reads will ignite excitement and inspiration when you need it.

Run the World: My 3,500 Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the World by Becky Wade

Upon graduation from Rice University, Wade received a fellowship that allowed her to travel across the globe and explore different running cultures. The journey begins during the London 2012 Olympics, where an associate manages to arrange for Wade to have dinner with Usain Bolt, and jumps to Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Ethiopia among others.

At each stop along the way, community is the common factor. Wade learns how the Ethiopians perfected the art of easy running, takes on brutal hill workouts and unconventional track races in Scandinavia, and bustles through the surreal and crowded running paths of Tokyo. In every case, she is welcomed and fed by those who share her passion. In fact, each chapter comes with a recipe from each of the cultures Wade visits.

This book was a reminder of why I want to run forever. PBs may be harder to come by with age, but knowledge, personal growth, and friendships never seem to stop forming when we run.

Grit by Angela Duckworth

Grit is a perhaps overused term. Everyone knows it’s important, but often the assumption is that grit is innate. Psychologist Angela Duckworth unpacks grit into key components and uses case studies ranging from military academy recruits to spelling bee champions to demonstrate how grit can actually be cultivated. Concepts like deliberate practice (Don’t neglect your track workouts, people!), adopting a growth mindset, and constantly renewing your interest are made real and practical in Duckworth’s book.

This book actually came recommended from Eric Gillis, who cited it as the book every runner should read. I encourage everyone to take Eric’s advice, but you can also have a sneak peek with Duckworth’s TED Talk.

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes ot Acheive It by Neal Bascomb

When Roger Bannister became the first runner to break the 4:00 mile barrier in 1954, debate erupted in the international press over whether or not the effort should be recognized because Bannister used pacers throughout in an attempt that was specifically about breaking 4:00 and not in a “real race”? Sound familiar?

Many of the debates that surrounded NIke’s Breaking2 project aren’t new. As someone who was a bit of a Breaking2 skeptic myself, what ultimately fuelled my intrigue was the three men who saw a barrier in front of them and decided to stick their neck out in attempt to do something considered impossible.

Yet again, Bascomb’s account of breaking the mile barrier as a common with our current obsession with the two hour marathon. Bascomb’s book is the story of Bannister, Aussie John Landy, and American Wes Santee, all gifted athletes who eventually found themselves hovering a nice round number (the book also does a good job of showing how arbitrary some of these barriers can be) and entered an arms race to be the first to crack it.

Even with the mile record now lowered to 3:43, the context of national pride, the gradual transition from amateur to professional athletics, still makes this story enthralling.

I, of course, am always looking for recommendations so leave yours in the comments.

iRun Radio – December 17th, 2017

Why I Run

December 17, 2017

From destinations races to keeping up your training when you’re traveling, running is a popular way to see the world. On this week’s show Mark Sutcliffe speaks with a legendary hockey coach with a long running streak, then Gavin Lumsden who raises money for childhood fitness programs and has literally weathered the storm at a number of races. Plus a former MP shares his what he has learned from running in different destinations.

Think Up: Lanni Marchant on 2017 and a Thought for the New Year

Lanni Marchant

December 15, 2017

The view from the top is pretty but …

I’ve been fortunate in my life and both my careers to have had the view from the top and the view from the bottom. I say fortunate because both views, despite being scary as shit, have their appeal. Look up from the bottom and you feel the thrill of how far you have yet to climb; look down from the top and you see how far you can fall. So, which view is my preference?

I’m short. I’ve spent my entire life craning my neck, tilting my chin, rolling my eyes, to look up. It’s my normal. It’s comfortable. It’s the view I prefer. I’d pick the long hard climb to the fast free-fall any day.

Maybe that’s why I am fine now. Despite the last year being less than ideal – personally and professionally – I am actually, for the first time in a long time, fine. I’m not looking forward. I tried forcing that this year and the most movement I made was two steps back for every one step forward. I’m not looking down, because, to be frank, I’m pretty sure I’ve found a new bottom.

I’m looking up.

I’ve always struggled with change of speed. My coach has always thrown different pick-ups into workouts and long runs to try to teach my body to respond to pace changes mid-race. Changing pace has been incredibly difficult for me this year. I fought it. I tried to push and force my body to recover, telling myself that I was perfectly fine after my spring stay-cation at St. Michael’s hospital. It’s been a hard lesson to learn that slowing life down has actually allowed me to speed up – maybe not in the form of fast miles yet, but certainly my health and recovery.

Speed “up” by slowing down.

“I’ve been here before.” That’s been my mantra this fall and it is serving me much better than the other battle cries and rallies I’ve tried. I used “new bottom” because I am not where I was in 2012 when I hit bottom. Then I was jobless, homeless, not on the Olympic team and hopeless

I am not where I was as recently as this spring when I was in hospital, fighting sepsis; celebrating if my pee was more urine than blood that day. No. Now I am at a bottom where I have accepted that this is a new climb, but a familiar one. That I still have ownership over my body, even if it’s a slightly different one.

“Up.” It is not a new concept for me. It was the cue word I used as a figure skater. “Think “up” when you jump instead of “don’t fall” — otherwise the last thing your brain is going to remember is “fall.” Advice almost as simple as #makeyourlegsgofast. I’d ride my edge, pick my toe into the ice, draw my weighted leg in while pivoting, pressing down into the ice while simultaneously drawing upon its force to catapult me into the air. And in those final few milliseconds think “up” as I snapped up, wrapping my arms and legs around each other, and I’d, for that split second of rotation, feel long. I felt tall.

Think “up” so you don’t fall

“Up. Up. Up. Can only go up from here.” Thanks Shania, but I politely beg to differ. Going up. Picking yourself up. It’s a choice. It’s not a decision made by default. Despite finding bottom, you can always try your hand at digging further. Plenty of people do. You can head forwards. Actively decide to slide backwards. It is all a choice.

For 2018, I’m choosing to think “up”.

Fair Weather Runner: The Weather Network’s Rachel Schoutsen

Ravi Singh

December 14, 2017

In the entire time we spend chatting in a Starbuck’s overlooking Mississauga’s Snug Harbour, the closest Rachel Schoutsen comes to negativity is when she describes her first half marathon. “I didn’t love every second of it,” Rachel says.

It’s about 2 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and the two time marathoner has wrapped another day as morning host on the Weather Network.

“One day I went for a 10K run and decided to push myself to 15,” Rachel tells me. “When I got home, I pulled out my laptop and signed up for the Oakville Half Marathon.”

Perhaps she made the jump to that first half marathon a bit too quickly and nerves couldn’t help but flare up on the course. “There was a lightning plan in place for the day and I was so nervous I couldn’t even hydrate properly in the morning,” Rachel recalls.

Despite the shakiness that often comes with one’s first leap to longer distances, Rachel found a path to positivity and that 2014 race would be the first of ten half marathons and counting.

“Every time I witness a beautiful sunrise or the perfect stillness of Lake Ontario, I’m so grateful that I trained my body to do this.”

“I’ve always been a positive person and I’ve always set goals,” Rachel says. Her career as a weather broadcaster was no accident. It’s been an ambition and something she’s worked toward since childhood. Running has been a bit more spontaneous, but the hard bitten determination that resides under Rachel’s bright smile and unfailing friendliness has readily found its way onto the course.

Even as she made the progression to the marathon, notorious for ravaging both body and mind, Rachel was somehow immune from the infamous post-race blues. Upon completion of Hamilton’s Road 2 Hope Marathon in 2016, Rachel proclaims, “I was so proud. I think I was in a good mood for two straight weeks!”

Positivity and energy are essential for someone whose job takes place in front of a camera and in the routine that surrounds that work. “I wake up at 3 a.m. to get to the studio for 3:45,” Rachel explains as I sip my coffee and shudder. She continues, “It’s a live show that’s put together by some amazing people. We wrap between 9 and 11 and I’m usually home by noon to walk my dog.”

For Rachel, the energy needed to sustain that routine is nourished
by running, which happens between the end of her work day and 7 p.m. bedtime. The drawback, or perhaps added advantage, is that Rachel has become accustomed to running in the worst conditions of the day, particularly in the summer.

“It’s easy to say that my biggest accomplishment as a runner is becoming a two time marathoner, but the impact I’ve had on others is so much bigger than I ever thought it could be.”

Of course it makes perfect sense that one of the treasures of running for Rachel is the way it connects her to nature and her surroundings, especially when her schedule allows for morning runs. “I get to see the best scenes nature has to offer. Every time I witness a beautiful sunrise or the perfect stillness of Lake Ontario, I’m so grateful that I trained my body to do this,” Rachel says.

According to Rachel, “Running also allows me to tell a better ‘weather story.’” Especially on race weekend, fellow runners can count on hearing about far more than temperature in Rachel’s reports. “There’s so much you have to look for and pay attention to on race day, from the direction of winds at different points along the route to expected cloud cover to how the temperature will change throughout the day.”

As a runner, she knows what factors to focus on so she can tell a story that’s both interesting and relevant. It’s another way that Rachel’s job and passion for running complement each other.

Rachel speaks of her colleagues at the Weather Network with adoration and considers herself fortunate to count many fellow runners among them, though she happily admits, “I’m more of the annoying type of runner who’s always talking about it.” But that constant chatter is just an extension of the irrepressible positivity that’s always defined Rachel along with a desire to share it.

Rachel beat her twin brother Jonathan into the world by two minutes. She also beat him to the finish line at the Mississauga Half Marathon by that exact same time. Image Source: Rachel Schoutsen

“It’s easy to say that my biggest accomplishment as a runner is becoming a two time marathoner, but the impact I’ve had on others is so much bigger than I ever thought it could be,” Rachel says. Only a few weeks prior to our meeting, Rachel completed the Niagara 10K with a friend who had never raced previously.

While she’s not sure of future race plans, the calendar is less important than the continued joy and ability to uplift others that running affords Rachel. “I’ve never hated it,” she declares without hesitation. “Running has always been a happy thing for me.” For Rachel, the forecast never seems to be gloomy.

Follow Rachel on Twitter and Instagram at @RachelSchoutsen

From Body Confidence to Body Image: Every Runner’s Body Is Different

Ben Kaplan

December 11, 2017

Heather Meeking is a 42-year-old runner from Toronto who traveled to Florida for the Disney half marathon and was nearly swept from the course at nine miles. Never athletic, she surprised herself as a runner after a friend connected her to the sport. However, despite her intentions, attitude, and hard work, she has faced repeated, dispiriting barriers. When a race shirt didn’t fit, she had to wear men’s clothing, size XL. And when she did participate in an event, even something like a bucket-list run at Disney, she faced cruel challenges, like having to fight race officials from removing her from the course before reaching her finish line. Undaunted, as runners are, she found support in our community, met new people, and, two years ago, got her boyfriend to run. (He’s now doing marathons.) But this October she raced another half marathon, and was again confronted by race officials, determined to sweep her from the course.

“I was cut short around the 15K mark and redirected to about the 16 or 17K mark,” she says, “and still carried on to finish and receive the medal.

For Heather, running—which is difficult for anyone—comes attached with indignities, some of which we as a sporting body can help her avoid. Meanwhile, Heather continues to run. She will race another half marathon this May.

“If I saw someone who looked like me when I was younger, I might have started running sooner and that makes a huge difference,” she says, “because running has become something that I love.”

Running is something that all of us love, and all of us struggle at some point with our bodies—too big or too small, we can’t find the right diet or we don’t like how we look. For plus-sized runners, however, the conversation can be more loaded. When Jennifer Dingle tells people she runs, she sometimes gets looked up and down. She ran the Ottawa Marathon, but before she was photographed for our cover, she was so uncertain about the shoot that she grew teary before our camera. Then, after receiving encouragement from our other cover subjects, including guest editor Sasha Golish, she stripped down to her sports bra and flexed.

“I want to inspire other runners,” she says. “I want to be a role model for runners like myself.”

Lanni Marchant is Canada’s all-time fastest marathon and half-marathon runner and a role model for runners young and old, both women and men. Her body’s been picked apart on social media and chat rooms and everything from what she wears to how she races has been ridiculed, even while she testifies before Congress on women in sport. Despite her public perception, she wears Wonder Woman bracelets and can come off sassy and wry, Marchant acknowledges that she’s not immune to self doubt, criticism, and nasty (usually anonymous) online comments. “We all have insecurities about our bodies,” Marchant, an Olympian, says. “We don’t always like how we look and we don’t always look like the runners we line up against, but running is the one sport that anybody can do. Just because I don’t look like a runner doesn’t mean that I’m not one.”

It’s not only women who succumb to body image issues. Mike Mandel is 48, from Montreal and raised in Winnipeg, and his weight has fluctuated since his days as a high-school athlete. Not surprisingly, his self-esteem and mental health have also rollercoaster-ed up and down. Mandel feels panic every time he arrives at a starting line. But he’s able to face those emotions because he knows how much he receives in return from the sport.

“I struggle with losing weight and know that I’m bigger than a lot of the guys I run against,” he says. “Nutrition and wellness and mental health are all tied together and so despite the depression and the anxiety, the panic and the nervousness, I keep telling myself as refrain, ‘Be happy with who you are, buddy.’ There’s no time I feel that as strongly as when I run.”

On the run we find our tribe, our community, our support crew, and our peers. But there are bad apples in our midst, or maybe just insensitive ones, or naive people. “Wow, you run?” is something that you should never say to another runner. It seems obvious, but it’s not. Two-time marathon finisher Lisa Leblanc was on a bus to a race start line when two runners looked at her and said, out loud: “There’s a lot of inexperienced people running this race.”

No runner would take pride in those behaviors. It goes against everything that’s great about our sport. Empathy and acceptance are the cornerstones of racing and we should all want to help other runners reach new finish lines. That’s what it means to run.

“Running was intimidating and though I wanted to try, I wasn’t comfortable with my body and it took years from when I first volunteered at a race until I actually went out on a run,” says Claudia Quammie, 38. She started running like we all do: first to the tree on the corner, then to the convenience store down the block. She took baby steps forward to make her way in our sport and, as she did, her confidence grew as her obsession with running progressed. She has now run nine 5Ks and two 10Ks, and plans to tackle the half marathon in the new year.

“I go to lots of events now and being able to line up against different races, different body types—different runners—all there for their health, makes me feel more comfortable with myself,” she says. “There are still times where I hate the way I look, but I know, like every runner, that I’m a work in progress. Running helps make me feel comfortable in the skin I’m in.”

Serena Ryder’s Mental Health Crusade

Ben Kaplan

December 11, 2017

Canada’s beloved roots rocker is a 35-year-old, eight-time Juno award-winning vocalist. However, it’s her work on wellness, staying active, and positive vibes that makes this runner an iRun fave.

iRun: It’s been almost ten years since you won the Best New Artist Juno and you seem to be at your most popular now. What do you attribute your longevity to?

Serena Ryder: Being open to change and realizing that you don’t really know that much. Being able to roll with the punches and adapt. Really, since Harmony [2012], I’ve been making records quicker. It’s easier to stay inspired in the studio when it’s not a long, drawn-out process.

iRun: How tied together is how you feel with how you record and perform?

SR: I have to be out in nature to clear my mind and cleanse my palate. It gives me an extra boost, whether I’m dancing with my headphones on, taking a long walk in Toronto’s High Park, trying my best to run, or walking in the woods, it doesn’t matter. It’s vital to me to unplug.

iRun: How is running helpful?

SR: It puts me into a different headspace and gets my body moving. The benefits are massive.

iRun: Being a rockstar is not without its temptations. What have you learned about eating and being active while spending so much time on the road?

SR: So many people think that every night should be a big party for us, they want us to come out and have drinks, but they have Saturday and Sunday to rest and I’m doing it every night. I had to learn or I wouldn’t still be doing it now. I wouldn’t have the stamina.

iRun: Talking about stamina makes you sound like a marathon runner. How do you conserve energy for the big gig?

SR: I’m tightly in control of my schedule and I need to get enough sleep. I may not get eight hours a night, not when I’m pulling out on a tour bus at 4 a.m., but I’ll nap during the day and drink my eight bottles of water. For me, meditation is also important—sometimes even just five minutes at the airport. I have to have me-time and normalize an abnormal life.

iRun: And staying active is a big part of that?

SR: Integral. It gives you more energy to do more. People say “I don’t have any time to run,” but if you run, you have more time to do better at all of the things you’re so busy with!

iRun: So what’s the secret? How do you make it work?

SR: People sometimes get so strict with what they think they need in their life and if everything isn’t perfect, they give up. Like if you can’t run at 9 a.m., you give up on it for the rest of the day. Don’t be so strict about what you think you need to get started. Start something, do it right now!

iRun: You’ve been a gutsy outspoken mental health advocate with the Bell Let’s Talk campaign, bringing up personal experiences. What’s been the response you’ve received so far?

SR: People aren’t put on this world to judge and I think that whatever you have inside of you that you know to be true, if you’re genuine, there’s no way you will not succeed.

iRun: Stompa is such a great running tune. Can you recommend a few jams for our readers?

SR: I like to start with No One Knows like the Piano by Sampha, then when I get going and want to move I’ll play Too Good by Drake and Rihanna. Anything by SIA is amazing, plus Kendrick Lamar is unbelievable. I just went to see him at the ACC.

Serena Ryder’s most recent album is Utopia. For tour dates, see SerenaRyder.com.

Running At Every Size: Finding Your Perfect Fit

TheBuzzonGear

December 10, 2017

It’s hard enough to start out as a runner, but our sport becomes next to impossible when the clothes don’t fit. One runner, Debbie Millar, charts her frustration.

I’ve only been running for two years now. I’ve never been a runner, but have been active most of my life, mainly swimming. Put in me a pool and I turn into a fish. On dry land, well, maybe more elephant-like.

I’ve always struggled with my weight, even as a competitive swimmer. As I grow older—I’m 58—it’s even harder. I started running after watching my niece, Kelly, run her first half marathon. She is only five years younger than me, so we are more sisterly than aunt/niece. Kelly encouraged me to start running to get healthier and hopefully slim down, and said it’s something we can (sort of) do together. She’s pretty fast and I’m turtle-slow, so it’s hard for her to slow it down. However, going out with her, meeting her running friends, and making new friends are what’s important. I usually end up running by myself and we’ll meet up at the end for coffee—and lots of laughs. Turns out I like to run.

My first goal was to run the Band On The Run 5K in Huntsville, Ontario. I was terrified! The first thing I needed was new runners, so off to the local running store I went. While I was waiting to get fitted and assessed, I started looking at the clothes.

I had plenty of workout clothes for yoga, but didn’t want to run in those as they are tight-fitting, and I was too self-conscious about my shape. I was looking for tops that were loose and fairly long to cover my rear end. And so started my extreme frustration and disappointment with running clothes.

First off, the selection of shirts that actually had large and extra-large sizes was extremely limited. Most of the sizes they had were extra-small, small, and medium. Before I get started, I’m already at a disadvantage. I tried on a large shirt first. This was more of a small-medium, and as soon as I put my arms into the shirt I knew it wouldn’t fit. Next up, the XL. It fit more like a medium, and was so tight. This is when the heartbreak starts and the voice in my head starts putting myself down. Frankly, I was embarrassed.

I suspended my quest for a shirt and decided to try on running pants, terrified that this was going to be a disaster too. To my surprise, the large fit. I knew they had to be snug. That was ok, as long as I could find a shirt big enough and long enough to hide what I needed to.

I complained to the store manager about the sizes and she told me that this was a common complaint. Now I don’t feel so bad. This really surprised me, especially in a sport where everyone is encouraged to jog or walk and get healthy. You’d think they would accommodate the people who are just starting out and are not the typical svelte shape of a runner. The store manager did find one XL tank top that was buried somewhere, and it fit—it was still a tad snug, but I could deal with it.

Time for my shoe fitting. No issues there, thankfully. Shoes purchased, pants purchased. Oh, and I needed a new running bra.

As was with the tops, the selection of large bras was extremely limited. Of the ones I liked, they didn’t have my size. Of the ones I didn’t like, they had one or two, so I tried them. I could hardly get them on. The first one I couldn’t even get down past my shoulders. Off that came. After about a 10-minute struggle, I got the second one on. It was like a vise. Nope, can’t do this, off it goes. Getting it off was worse than getting it on! After another 10-minute, struggle I got it off. Now I was exhausted, sweating so hard, my face was red, and I felt like I had just ran a marathon. My God, do these manufactures even test the sizes and the ease of getting on/off on anyone?

Once again I voiced my opinion to the poor kid trying to help me.

I left the store with a pair of runners, a tank top, and a pair of capris. It would have been a lot more if they’d had a better selection of sizes—REAL sizes.

So began my journey of finding nice, and I stress nice, clothes to wear as I prepped for my first 5K and the road to better health.

I wanted more shirts, other than the cotton t-shirts I was running in, and a couple more bras. A department store was the next stop, then an upscale athletic boutique. I figured since they were bigger stores with more selection, they would have larger size ranges. I was wrong! Sure, they had more selection of different brands, but the sizes and the sizing? Nope, just as bad.

I would take 4–5 XL shirts, once I found them, into the change room, and walk out with nothing that fit—everything was too small and too tight. I’d go back to searching and repeat the process. I left the stores empty-handed, almost in tears.

I never even bothered with the bras.

The time came for my 5K and I was off to Huntsville. I picked up my very first race kit and my first race shirt. I asked for an XL and was sure it would fit, figuring they would have “real” sizes. Wrong again! It was way too tight for my liking. An XL should be loose. I asked if they had an XXL—nope, this was it. My niece was also running and even she mentioned her shirt was a bit snug. Kelly has been running a long time and fits small or medium, so for her to say it was snug speaks volumes on the incorrect sizing these days.

I ended up wearing a cotton t-shirt and my windbreaker from when I was in school. I was sweltering, even though the day started out drizzling and a tad cold.

Whomever manufactures these shirts need to revisit their patterns, resizing them to fit EVERY BODY. What used to be a 14 is now more of a 12, and it’s just not right. I had a blast at my 5K and was hooked. Turns out, I like to run!! Everyone was so nice and had great attitudes. I saw people of all shapes and sizes running, walking, being healthy. It was a great day.

I signed up for the Scotiabank Waterfront, another 5K, and continued to run. I wasn’t running as much as I should, as work would get in the way far too much, but I soldiered on. And again ventured out to get more running clothes. I went to the outlet stores, and with every brand it was the same story: very little selection in XL, and XL was too tight—shirt after shirt, bra after bra. I did get lucky at the Saucony store and came out with two tanks.

I signed up for a few more runs: the Chilly 5K (miraculously, the XL jacket did fit), then I upped it to a 10K. I did a 10K, then another one, and every shirt was just too tight. My second race was in Niagara was slightly better, but still not a true XL.

I know I’m not the only “I-don’t-look-like-Shalane-Flanagan” runner out there—and the running world knows this. Even John Stanton posts picture after picture of runners of all shapes and sizes, so he knows that we are not all size 0. Please, I’m talking directly to all of the running brands here—please wake up! You would sell a lot more products if you properly sized your clothing. Maybe the stores need runners on staff (women and men) who are not a size 0 to try on their mock-ups and work at the registers. Make adjustments to accommodate the various body types out there, not just a runner’s perceived body shape and size.

The quest goes on to keep running, get fit, desperately try to lose weight, and find decent running clothes that will fit, but most importantly, have fun and not get caught up in the “nothing fits” disappointments.

I know the sport can do better. I know I’m not the only one.

iRun Radio – December 10th, 2017

Why I Run

December 9, 2017

On the show this week, Mark speaks with one runner about her journey to quit smoking and get healthier through running. Then RayZahab, iRun’s runner-in-chief shares the details on his latest adventure running through the Namib desert in Namibia. And find out what Dylan Wykes enjoys most as a runner turned coach.

Confronting My Weight and Taking Control

Ben Kaplan

December 7, 2017

The scale. Most of us have one and like many of the other tools we use on the path to health and wellness, it causes more pain than joy. I avoid mine because I know (mostly) that the numbers I read don’t always mean what I think they do.

Lately I have been running more. I found a love that I had lost. I was hopeful and then momentarily crushed when after weeks of volume I weighed more than the last time I checked. As far and endurance athletes go I am on the bigger end of the continuum. Certainly, in relation to many of the athletes I compete against. I don’t need a PHD to realize that performance can be hindered by additional mass. Since I cannot convince everyone else to strap on a back pack when we race I am always trying to lose weight. I can be rational about it and often say that my ultimate goal is health and longevity but really, I am secretly making the relative comparisons I always advise people not to make. I compare my body to everyone who goes faster than I do and end up with a renewed sense of shame. It is a vicious cycle. Another thing I am always trying rid myself of.

I actually feel better than I have in a long time. I can feel the years of eating my feelings slowly slipping away. I actually posted a 1km PB on a run not even 10 days ago. So, what is it that makes me (and maybe you) forget all the good stuff just because a machine has measured us in a negative way? The list of perpetrators is long. We grow up with societal pressure, media imagery and even personal bias. When you finally enter the world of sport the notions of body type are present but even more harmful is the notion that a certain body is needed for a certain activity. Well if you are reading this then you may be ready to agree that this is bullshit and that while we may have to accept some limitations at first, the only thing that stops us is that we accept these standards in the first place. We forget that athletes who embody the ideal that many of us strive for, also pay a price. We can argue that their reward is success, respect, accomplishment but then again, those goals are achievable by everyone.

As long as you are moving you are winning. As long as you get to the line and take the first step you are succeeding. As long as you do the best that you can you deserve the respect of everyone around you. I say that out loud as much for me as for anyone else.

I can’t promise you that I won’t look around the track at my next workout or across the start line at my next race and not be immediately aware of how different I look from many of the other people there. What I do promise is that I won’t let that stop me from putting one foot in front of the other with the simple goal of beating yesterday. That is something that we can all do whether running is your life or your running life is just beginning.

Ultimately, I feel that I am lucky even though some days getting out of bed takes all the energy I have. Running just makes me feel better. I want to share that and my renewed passion for running with someone who also might need some help getting out the door. I was recently given a pair of Size 13 Brooks sneakers at a photo shoot. It would make me very happy to give them to someone who is thinking about starting to run or who maybe just needs a new pair to keep going. Please share your story with me and allow me to share my love of running with you.

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