56, Saskatoon
Running helped me lose weight and get healthy, but more importantly, it has become my passion. My running journey has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people from around the world who share the same passion as me. Last January I joined Team Diabetes and this October I am off to run a half marathon in Lisbon, Portugal.
As Ottawa Race Weekend ramps up, Steve Beauchesne is ramping up his training for the half marathon distance. Steve recently took beer mile world record holder Lewis Kent, who is running the 5K in Ottawa, for a tour of Beau’s brewery and they talked about all things beer and running.
When Evan Dunfee’s older brother had his appendix removed, a coach encouraged race walking as a way to maintain fitness through the recovery and healing process. According to Evan, 11 at the time, “He had some success with it and as the younger brother I naively and correctly assumed that if he could do it, then it must not be very hard. I won my first race, an 800m, in 4:57. I was immediately hooked and haven’t looked back.”
After a stellar performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in which he demonstrated incredible athleticism as well as sportsmanship, Evan continues to look forward. Evan will walk the BMO Vancouver Marathon this weekend in preparation for the Pan-Am Race Walking Cup in Peru later this month.
In a featured athlete interview, Evan said, “..it will really just be a training walk. I will be aiming for something around 3:10-3:15. What I am most looking forward to though is pulling people along to PB’s! No one likes getting passed by a walker so I’m hoping in those final 5KM I can push people out of fear of embarrassment to run quicker than they ever have before, which would be a job well done for me!”
We got to know Evan and learn about his passion for the race walk by asking him to complete some open ended sentences.
I found out I was really good at race walking because…
I was breaking records and winning races from the time I was 12.
One thing that’s definitely similar about running and race walking is…
The physiology and the aerobic engine needed for elite performance. For example, my VO2max is 75ml/kg/min.
One way that running and race walking are totally different is…
The technical constraints mean that our “sprint” finishes are calculated efforts of 2km-5km instead of a few hundred meters.
A half marathon race walk at the Olympics just won’t be the same because…
It intrinsically has no value. By definition, if it’s half of something, it’s incomplete. It’s the same reason why a running half marathon wouldn’t be right in the Olympics.
When I’m in peak training and covering two marathons a week, the most crucial element of proper recovery is…
Sleep, which has been made a lot easier this year with my new Essentia memory foam mattress.
The aspect of my training and competing I’m most working to improve in 2017 is…
Patience. The 50km in Rio was a great race for me, but I lacked patience. I got eager and I think it cost me a chance at Olympic gold. This year in racing, I’m working on being patient (and it’s paying off, picking up my first ever World Cup win in Mexico in March), but the same goes for training. I’m not forcing myself to be in top shape in May. I’m allowing myself to build crescendo style towards August when it all matters.
When I suffer through a disappointing performance in a race or training, the first thing I do is…
Honestly, get pissed off. I’ve found great success in allowing myself that time immediately after disappointment to vent my frustration and lay out my anger right away. Once that is over I can then work on finding perspective and taking the good away, of which there is always some. But I can only do that if I allow myself to be angry for a little bit first.
The thing I most want to see for race walking in the next ten years is…
For it to continue existing.
Something about my event I’ll never get tired of is…
The friendships and the mutual cooperation of athletes from different countries to help one another succeed. In 2016 and 2017, we brought together 30+ athletes from nearly 20 countries for studies and training camps at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. You just don’t get that kind of mutual cooperation from any other event group. We are very tight and close knit.
Kathrine Switzer changed the world. In 1967, she became the first woman to successfully complete the Boston Marathon, a run that was nearly interrupted when race official Jock Semple tried to wrestle her off the course. Switzer wouldn’t be thwarted by Semple and, though Boston didn’t officially allow women to participate in their race until 1972, Switzer herself was just getting started. After completing her marathon, she dedicated her life to equal rights in athletics and the 1974-winner of the New York Marathon would go on to become the founder of the Avon International Running Circuit, which reached 1-million women in 27 countries. Her work was instrumental in getting women to compete in the Olympic marathon, beginning with the 1984 Olympic Games. Last month, she revisited Boston and once again made history at the world’s most famous race. This weekend, Switzer will be appearing at the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon, including in an interview with iRun GM Ben Kaplan at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 6. We caught up with Switzer as she made her way to Toronto.
iRun: Congratulations on completing another Boston marathon.
Switzer: It was a fairytale ending, believe me. It’s been a long journey. And at 70, anything can go wrong with your training, but there have been so many people cheering for me. It’s amazing, so thank you.
iRun: Did you always know you’d run Boston again?
Switzer: Never. My last Boston was 1976 and I figured that was it. After that I created the Avon Global Women’s Running Circuit. I had won New York and run a 2:51 at Boston and thought: I’m never going to get better than that. Naturally I was tempted to put a 2:41 after my name, but the 2:51 took so much work and paved the way for my next opportunity.
iRun: Tell us about that, the Avon International Running Circuit.
Switzer: I thought it would lead to getting the marathon in the Olympic Games and it did. Avon said, ‘We love this and we love you and hired me,’ and it was a dream fulfilled, but I knew if I did this, it would require every creative and physical ability I have and I hung up the shoes, became a doctor and called 1976 my last marathon.
iRun: Marathon running is like being the Godfather. You keep trying to get out, but it keeps pulling us back in.
Switzer: I put it behind me quite happily but, in my 60s, I was doing a signing for my second book, and women that were 65, 70, 75, kept saying, ‘You’re my inspiration! I didn’t start running until I was 65!’ I started eating my heart out. They were doing things I had helped create, but I wasn’t taking part in. I wondered if I could get it back. I wondered if I could run another marathon.
iRun: And you did. And it was Boston.
Switzer: I trained up and it took me two years. What I feel is: If you’re fit and you’re healthy and have an opportunity, what a privilege it is to try. My sense was incredible gratitude. How many 70-year-olds get to the starting line?
iRun: Gratitude seems to be the best emotional to fuel not only running, but fuel a happy and healthy life.
Switzer: Wally Bortz in particular was pioneering in his belief that our most important organ isn’t the heart or the brain, but our legs—we should keep moving into old age and live an active old-age lifestyle. It assures you quality of life. He wrote a book called We Live Too Short and Die Too Long and I’m a real believer in that. Go full bore and go off the edge of the cliff, that’s what Ed Whitlock did.
iRun: What do you mean?
Switzer: It was amazing when Ed Whitlock died, how it happened, and he was a great friend of both Roger’s and mine. He ran the marathon with prostate cancer and then he just said, it’s time.
iRun: What was it about Boston, in 1967, that you wanted to tame?
Switzer: Here’s the point of it: in those 50 years we went from Jock trying to throw me out of the race to Boston now almost 50/50 in terms of women and men, and in Canada, it’s more women running than men—it’s practically a women’s sport!
iRun: It’s sad to remember that women couldn’t run in the Olympics until 1984.
Switzer: The important thing is that social revolution of women’s running is that it’s a transformational experience. Running transforms women, women and men but we’re talking about women, and gives us a sense of empowerment that effects all our lives. They’re no longer trying to lose five pounds or become Olympic athletes—they’re there because it makes them feel good, makes them feel empowered. That’s why I wanted to go back to Boston, to thank the people in the streets for helping make the worst thing in my life become the best thing. Women are telling me, ‘Thanks to running, I have the courage to leave my abusive relationship’ and I want to pass the torch. I ain’t going to be around forever, these new guys have to do it, that’s what my foundation 261 Fearless is about—be fearless in the face of adversity.
iRun: Tell us about 261 Fearless.
Switzer: We formed a non-profit where we take this spirit of empowerment to women around the world with no opportunities. They can game this by putting one foot in front of the other. Capability is everywhere it just needs an opportunity. 261 was my bib number in 1967 Boston, and it’s been retired, by the way.
iRun: Canadian runners like Lanni Marchant and Rachel Hannah have been vocal about touting your influence.
Switzer: Such feisty women, I love it! I couldn’t believe Lanni Marchant took her top off! I said, ‘Oh boy, that’s fantastic!’ I love what she said—really, really strong. Nobody wants to see me do that now, but I would, believe me. This new generation, incredible.
iRun: We’ll pass that along. Now can you please tell us about your run in 67?
Switzer: I’ve done this a thousand times, but OK, here goes: I was reading JD Salinger at the time, so I signed my form KV Switzer, I didn’t think anything of it. There was nothing about gender written on the entry form and I wasn’t there to prove anything. (Later, race officials said I should have known it was a men’s only race, but that’s bullshit.) At first, my coach didn’t think a woman could run a marathon, but I did it in practice and he was totally blown away and he said, ‘I’m proud of you, you’re going to be really noticed now,’ and so the day of the race I wore very dishy shorts and top, I was eager to show off that I was a girl.
iRun: What was the prevailing attitude in 1967?
Switzer: If you were a female athlete, you had to look like a guy. But it was snowy on race day and I threw on everything I could find and you couldn’t see I was a woman. The guys racing all knew and were welcoming, but the officials didn’t know. It was colder than hell but after a mile, the press truck came by and Jock Semple was getting teased by the journalists—there’s a girl in your race!—and he jumped off the bus and attacked me. He smacked my coach and was clawing at my shirt, but my boyfriend gave him a shoulder charge and he went flying through the air. My coach said, ‘Run like hell!’ So down the street I went.
iRun: Where did you find the strength to keep on?
Switzer: I made the decision there and then: I’ll finish on my hands and knees if I have to. Anything could’ve happened. I could’ve bonked. I could’ve got diarrhea, but I made the decision and after I ran Heartbreak I realized I murdered Jock Semple every way a person could be murdered and after 20 miles, you can’t stay angry, you focus on the big issues, and there I realized other women would be here if they only had the opportunities. Don’t you get your best ideas on the run? I finished that race and had a life plan.
iRun: Helluva story, my friend. Helluva life.
Switzer: Jock Semple gave me a vehicle to change million of women’s lives in a powerful way and gave the women’s rights movement one of the greatest photos in history, I have gratitude for everything that’s happened to me. Everything that I’ve done.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
Unconventional Race, Deeply Motivated Racers: Red Bull Canada stages Wings for Life World Run App on May 7 to benefit victims of spinal chord injury.
By Ben Kaplan
The most unconventional run of the year is put on by Red Bull and has no finish line and sees 100% of the costs associated with the event go to Spinal Chord injuries. Wings for Life, which was started in 2004 and has thus far sponsored 142 spinal chord research projects, is May 7 and there’s no one set event location. Instead, racers of all levels use the Wings for Life App to participate wherever they are across Canada—and all over the world. Runners around the world take off at the same starting point and run as far as they can until a virtual chase car catches them. It’s fun and strange and the people who benefit from it, like Pauly Plewa, 22, are inspiring and wonderful.
“When people say I can’t do something, that just gives me motivation to prove them wrong,” says Plewa, who broke his back before his 17th birthday and was told that he’d never walk again. He says he has US$45,000 worth of steel holding his spine together and that he’s back driving race cars, and running and jumping, even though doctors thought he’d forever be wheelchair-bound. “I had a few words for those doctors, and not everything I said, I admit, was said politely,” recalls Plewa, with a laugh. “The truth is much more can be done for people with injured spinal chords. I want to thank Red Bull Canada for leading the charge.”
Event participants prepare to compete in the Wings For Life World Run in Santa Clarita, California, USA on March 08, 2016.
PHOTO: Redbull Content Pool
Spinal chord injuries effect 250,000 people each year and scientists know that injured neurons are able to regenerate. The Wings for Life Spinal Chord Research Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure. Pauly Plewa, hard working and with the support of his parents and sister, knows that his recovery is rare. He participates in the event to raise attention to spinal chord research—and because he loves to run.
“It’s probably the coolest event I’ve known and I’ve been an ambassador since day one,” he says. “Even the doctors I worked with after my accident didn’t seem to know how to treat my injuries. But that’s changing, and these injuries can be treated, and what’s better than a race to raise attention to helping people survive?”
Josh Dueck races at the Wings for Life World Run in Niagara Falls, Canada on May 8, 2016.
PHOTO: Redbull Content Pool
The Wings for Life event is nontraditional, in that instead of a finish line, participants run as far as they can until they’re caught by a chase car. In the past, this was held around the world with 150,000 runners taking part in 34 locations, with the event lasting as long as it takes for each participant to be caught. This year, to avoid any exclusions, the event is basically virtual with the Wings for Life App, which allows participants to download the program and virtually compete. For Leslie Woods in Montreal, who has twice run the race, the virtual component is a big leap forward.
“The format, the energy, the people, I found the whole thing to be unlike any other running event I’ve ever seen,” says Woods, who helped pilot the app with the help of his run crew in Montreal. “It’s great to see Red Bull championing this charity and I just know this year, the event is going to bring runners together all over the country to make a difference for people who’ve injured their spinal chords.”
Events are being held all over the country, in Niagara Falls, in Montreal, in Calgary, and in Vancouver, where Rob Smith, from Vancouver Running Company, is leading the run. Smith, who also hosted the event in 2016, believes the event is fun and unique and a very powerful way to get runners involved with a great charity. On May 7, he plans on leading 125 runners out to participate at the Wings for Life App event at 4 a.m.
“Experiential events are what a lot of runners are clamoring for—the world of $70 10Ks and an ill-fitting shirt are falling by the wayside. Runners demand an experience,” says Smith. “I think when you take that, and combine it with an international company that isn’t concerned about selling their product but growing the sport, and with 100% of the proceeds going to charity, it’s an amazing match. I can’t wait for May 7 to arrive.”
Visit The Wings for Life App for more information on runs.
This is a paid piece of advertorial content, brought to you by Red Bull Canada.
On April 15th, Canadian Nicole Sifuentes won the BAA Invitational Mile, one of the three races held as part of the Boston Marathon festivities. Sifuentes, a two time Olympian, not only held the lead right from the gun, but also smashed the course record of 4:35.4, running 4:33.7.
Sifuentes came in with a game plan, but not one that necessarily prioritized a record or even taking the top spot. “My top priority in the race was not to win but to get a very hard effort in my season opener,” Nicole says, adding, “I needed to ‘shock my system’ back into race mode.” That’s why Nicole dropped the hammer immediately.
Given that the course includes so many turns, the BAA Mile is known for being slow off the start. With Nicole running on effort, the possibility that she could go under the course record if she pushed right away without waiting to kick wasn’t completely out of mind. In Nicole’s words, “The results history and course record also indicated that no one had ever run very fast.”
Beyond this single race, the philosophy that less structure and pressure is better informs Nicole’s approach to running as an elite, especially since Rio 2016, after which she initially intended to retire. Summarizing her approach, Nicole says, “I have found a lot of peace in reducing structure and strict calendars from my running career. For practical reasons I do make plans for upcoming races, booking travel, deciding the focus of my training, etc., but I haven’t been thinking very far in advance.” Rather, Nicole has settled into an approach of “…treating every opportunity as something to be thankful for and holding future opportunities very lightly.”
It’s an interesting outlook for an athlete who has performed incredibly consistently over the years and still appears to be at the top of her game. It makes perfect sense, however, considering what’s come to drive Nicole as an individual and as a runner.
As far as Nicole is concerned, she’s not really in control. Her successes and failures are understood in light of her strong sense of faith and belief that, “God is Sovereign and every person and situation I encounter has been put there by Him for a purpose.” By maintaining that strong relationship with her faith, Nicole is less inclined to force a certain predetermined path. She’s instead guided by teachings like those in Isaiah 30:20-21, which states, ”Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ’This is the way; walk in it.’”
Through triumphs and failures, Nicole believes that her path is guided. The path may not always be clear, but Nicole has trust in her faith.
As her career progressed and evolved, Nicole also returned to savouring the fundamentals of running and the reasons she first fell in love with it, especially the balance between intense competition and the sport’s independent nature.
“I am very uncoordinated and would not consider myself athletic outside of running. As I continued in the sport I found it suited my personality in a lot of ways,” Nicole says. Discovering a sport where she could actually dominate appealed to what Nicole describes as her competitive nature.
Coupled with the intensity running offered on the course, Nicole continues to enjoy running as a solitary pursuit. “The professional athlete lifestyle of a runner (at least my life as a runner) is relatively quiet, unhurried, and individually driven.” While pursuing her athletic passion, Nicole appreciates, “…having control and flexibility in my schedule and more time at home to rest than in a more typical job or even a team sport.”
It’s not surprising, then, that attempts to pry details about Nicole’s plans for 2017–is she looking to represent Canada at London 2017?–prove unsuccessful. What we can more likely expect in the future is to see an athlete with a real passion for and immersion in her sport, backed by a strong trust in her path and raw talent. We can’t know what to expect if Nicole doesn’t, but recent results indicate it will be intriguing and impressive, whatever it may be.
Cool news just in: the Waterloo Half Marathon on April 30, 2017 has just changed its name to the Ed Whitlock Half Marathon. As most runners know, Whitlock was a champion masters runner who held 36 world records and ran right up until his death this March, just after his 86th birthday.
In 2016, Whitlock broke the half marathon world record for 85+ at the Waterloo event, finishing in 1:50:47, nine minutes faster than it had ever been done by anyone at that age. The picture above is of Ed breaking the record (please note the sly smile on his face).
“We are recognizing Ed’s contribution to running; his humble personality – The Master, by naming the Half Marathon the Ed Whitlock Half Marathon,” said Tony Lea, Executive Director of St. John Ambulance in Kitchener-Waterloo, in a press release.
The Ed Whitlock Half Marathon is this Sunday, April 30, at Bechtel Park in Waterloo. For more information, see www.waterloomarathon.com.
This past weekend I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Vancouver for the first time to race the Sun Run 10km to kick off my spring season. When I arrived in Vancouver on Friday, I learned that a phenomenal field of elite women had been assembled and I felt excited (but also a little intimidated) for the opportunity to run in such a deep, competitive field.
After arriving in Vancouver, my roommate (Victoria Coates) and I went on a shake out run and took in the beautiful mountain scenery along the sea wall to Stanley Park. On Friday evening we went to a reception with the race sponsors and organizers, which was a great way to start off the weekend and meet everyone. Victoria and I had both flown in from Toronto on Friday and we were feeling the time change and long day of travel by the end of the evening, so we went to bed early and slept in on Saturday morning to wake up feeling rested.
On Saturday we had a relaxing day, continued to adjust to the time change, went on a course tour, met a few more athletes, and enjoyed the hospitality of Coordinator Maurice Wilson and Host Olivia. After going for an early dinner, we returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for race day.
On race morning, we woke up to cloudy skies but no rain, a light wind and a temperature of 9C, good conditions. Victoria and I jogged an easy warm up, crossed our fingers that the rain would hold off, and got ready to race. It was a fast, downhill start and I got caught up in the excitement and went out in 3:10 for the first km (whoops!) with a strong pack. I had no business going out that fast, but it happened. I fell back a bit to my goal pace of 3:35 for the next couple of km, and then had trouble maintaining my turnover. At this point, I slipped back into more of my marathon tempo for the next 6k, while trying to tell my legs to “wake up, this is a 10K, not a marathon, get going!” before finally regaining some speed for a stronger last km up and over the last bridge and downhill to the finish.
Despite falling off my goal pace, I managed to run a 3 second PB of 37:20. Although I was aiming for much faster, it was a transition to the 10K distance coming back from Around the Bay 30K and I can look forward to more speedwork in the next little while to help with the turnover. I enjoyed the course and the race atmosphere and the opportunity to run in an amazing field. Overall, I’m grateful for the experience and learned a lot for the next one! I’m also grateful to Maurice and Olivia for hosting us and putting on a phenomenal, enjoyable event that I hope to race again in the future. Over the weekend, I quite enjoyed spending time with and getting to know Victoria, who recently competed at World XC in Uganda.
Congratulations to everyone who raced the Sun Run, it was an honour to meet so many inspiring athletes!
Photographs courtesy of Marathon Photos.
Jen Beauchesne shared this Beau’s Beer Runners update about running in America’s Capital while training for the half-marathon in Canada’s Capital!
Every year craft brewers from North America and around the world come together for an annual education and networking event called the Craft Brewers Conference. Though easily mistaken for a beard and tattoo convention, it actually attracts more than 10,000 talented craft beer industry folks, and this year took place in Washington DC. Knowing that craft beer + running = Oh Yeah, a super-cool local Washington brewery called DC Brau sent out an invitation for a group run on the Tuesday morning of the conference. What better occasion for my brother Steve’s first group run? He had to get over his shyness first, of course.
The approx. 9K run took us path the Smithsonian Castle and some war memorials and around the Washington Monument and up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which in turn had a pretty cool view…. of the Washington Monument. Almost like they planned it that way. But what are the chances of that?
Washington is both a cool and at times frustrating city to run it, at least The National Mall area we were in. The running paths are nice and wide and take you past some pretty stunning buildings and gardens, and even an old-timey carousel. But on the flip side there are many, many street crossings with super-long signal lights, so our group had to slow up and ‘take the walk’ at just about every intersection. Along the way there were options to add inclines and stairs up to monuments if you wanted to add some elevation. And we did.
About 45 minutes in, though, the heat and city air and dehydration of hotel life all caught up to me and I started to have trouble breathing, and dropped to the back of the pack all wheezy-like. Steve was running and chatting with some folks from Brewery Vivant (all the coolest breweries run too), but slowed down to check on me. I told him I wasn’t doing so great, and that I might have to kick it early. He laughed, told me we were almost done anyway, and then dumped his entire water bottle over-top of my head. I laughed, and then we finished the run.
Long before she became a runner, Margaret Buttner was a race organizer. Along with her husband, the duo are part of Lions Gate Road Runners, a Vancouver B.C. based running group that began more than 45 years ago. Through her involvement with Lions Gate, Margaret began volunteering with the BMO Vancouver marathon, eventually co-chairing the event for its 40th anniversary in 2011. Here’s how she got into running races herself and how she keeps her connection going strong.
iRun: After organizing so many events, what or who really inspired you to enter your first race?
Margaret Buttner: The BMO Vancouver Marathon was the turning point in 2011, I co-chaired its 40th anniversary celebration and we were fundraising to get Kathrine Switzer and her husband Roger Robinson to be the keynote speakers. I admire them so much for all they’ve done for the sport of running but if I had to give one reason it was Katherine. I ran the half marathon in Victoria later that year and it wasn’t about being fast, it was about being greeted by Kathrine (and of course my husband and friends) at the finish line. Since then, I’ve realized that as a woman in her 50s there is no reason I can’t go out there myself and run recreationally in organized races.
iRun: You live and run in British Columbia, so how did you get involved with Run Ottawa?
MB: Last fall, I met John Halverson from Run Ottawa, and asked about their social media team. He suggested I apply to be a part of it and I was so excited to see how the event was organized. I’m looking forward to the adrenaline of running the Nation’s capital.
iRun: What distance will you be running at Ottawa Race Weekend?
MB: I am running the 5K rather than the 10K. I wanted to feel good out there and have that golden moment. You feel good at the end, the thing we all say is we don’t “only” run a 5K. I want to celebrate with my friends in the finish area and really enjoy it. Between January and November, I run about 16 races a year between 5 and 10 K and I’m lucky to be able to enjoy every moment.
iRun: While running is part of it, why did you really want to be involved with the social media team?
MB: The Canada 150 celebration is such a significant part of it. Ottawa is a special city, it’s interesting because it’s a smaller city yet there’s still a lot to see and do and easy to navigate as a tourist. Once you are there it’s easy to find your way around. The adrenaline of the whole race weekend is going to be amazing. One of the things I enjoy is chatting with people across the country about running shorter distances how we should feel proud that we’re out there running.
iRun: How does social media really connect runners, pre-race and why has it become such an important communication tool for races?
MB: With social media we are able to connect people with a sense of immediacy and the story telling becomes live and interactive. When you want to be connected to people live, it’s a whole lot easier. As well, personally inviting people that maybe aren’t super competitive to race, with little teasers is kind of a cool way to engage them. It is important to make people aware, that all runners can just get out there and do it.
iRun: What are you looking forward to most, what is going to get you out on race day in Ottawa?
MB: I’d love it if our Prime Minister may be there running and I can’t imagine not being out there. I feel very privileged to be meeting the rest of Team Awesome in person in Ottawa too.
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