With participants from over sixty countries, the Toronto Marathon, celebrating its twentieth anniversary this May, has cemented its place as Canada’s premier spring race. There are distances between 5K and the marathon, and the course is fast and a popular qualifier for the Boston Marathon. This year, in an effort to create the greatest experience for Canadian and American participants, bibs and shirts can be sent out to racers, adding to the general ease of attending the event. However, none of that truly captures the magic of this race. Because what makes it so popular both with Canadians and race participants from all over the world is the energy. There’s nothing quite like the big city racing buzz.
With their famous psyching team, which offers encouragement to runners before, during and after their race, and top-notch medical team, the Toronto Marathon comes together behind experienced leadership and top-notch volunteers. It’s incremental improvement and attention to detail that has set the team effort up for 2023 success.
Meanwhile, the pandemic has only added to the pool of potential race participants and, while the numbers are still being tallied, there’s no doubt that the sport of running is seeing another big boom. With so many new runners approaching the sport, and so many people of all abilities discovering running but who have potentially never raced before, it’s an opportunity to welcome everyone to the Toronto Marathon. There’s nothing quite like racing down one of North America’s biggest cities.
The course of the Toronto Marathon snakes through Toronto and extends along the waterfront and, thanks to a long-term partnership with Sportstats, friends and families are able to track each racer in real time. The Toronto Marathon, kicking off May 7, has eighteen water and aid stations and, given the unpredictable nature of Ontario’s spring, the finish line area is tented and heated. Meanwhile, while finishers enjoy great finish line food, they’re also entitled to a free massage. So as Canadians work their way through the winter, vibes are starting to feel good for racing in Toronto this spring.
The result is energy and the buzz across North America surrounding the Toronto event is loud and growing ever more louder. The run has already raised more than $8-million for Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and other charities and 2023 is shaping up to be the biggest, and best, year yet.
The Toronto Marathon will be held Sunday, May 7, 2023 in Toronto, Canada. For all of your information, please see TorontoMarathon.com, and follow along on Instagram, @TorontoMarathon.
Ben Flanagan isn’t only one of Canada’s best runners, he’s certainly amongst our most ambitious. The holder of Canadian records in the 10K and half marathon, he makes no bones about being greedy in his desire for even more slots in the record book.
“I was happy last year setting road records, but everything this season is about making the national team and qualifying for the World Championships this summer,” he told me, before the 28-year-old went on to set a new personal best in the 3000-metre last weekend at the New Balance Grand Prix. “All of my decisions right now are based upon accomplishing that goal.”
The one thing you probably share in common with Ben Flanagan is a desire to achieve your goal. However, there’s certainly a sweet spot between safety and going hard, taking a day off or completing one last rep and, like when the temperature drops to below negative-40 in Manitoba, running outdoors in three pairs of mittens or skipping your workout, saving your energy for another day.
Flanagan, a sponsored athlete for the buzzy new Swiss company On, has spent oodles of time thinking about glory and pain. He’s suffered stress fractures and says that, eighteen months ago: “I literally broke.” So while Flanagan continues dreaming big—including setting the 5K record, qualifying for the Olympics and, eventually, scaling up to the marathon—he’s also meticulously cautious: he’s stepped over the ledge and he’s gotten himself burned.
“I have a negative relationship with the term ‘punishment,’ and prefer ‘sacrifice,’ as a framing method, and it’s good to have an understanding of what you’re putting yourself through,” continued Flanagan. “When you finish a workout that’s so challenging that you never want to do it again, that’s problematic and not sustainable—and probably does more damage than good.”
It’s interesting the concept of ‘damage,’ because working out is, by definition, tearing your muscles apart and rebuilding them to be stronger. The process, by definition, is uncomfortable. But how much discomfort is helpful, especially when trying to go further and faster and finding a new threshold for your own capabilities? Flanagan pushed himself past his breaking point, learned his lesson, and now is aware of his body, and his times improved. The question is: how should all of this relate to you?
“I’ll run solidly into the -30s, because nothing makes you feel like more of a super hero than coming home from a run in those temperatures and being able to say that you did it,” says Kirsten Parker, who, in addition to hosting the podcast Women Run Canada, works at the Manitoba Marathon, one of Canada’s best summer events. Parker, a proud middle-of-the-pack athlete, has asthma and knows that icy roads are dangerous, but says there’s a mental edge she gains when defeating the elements. She said, “Knowing that you are doing something that 90% of the population thinks is crazy feels good!”
FROZEN: Parker, on the run in Winnipeg.
Obviously the hurt we feel in practice can translate into race day success and some of the reason why we run in the first place is the feeling of accomplishment after achieving difficult things. But our hobby shouldn’t always be punishment and if your workouts leave you crippled, it will be difficult to sustain. Flanagan also brought up an interesting training phenomenon in our conversation, which could be another way of framing the conversation: momentum.
Whether it’s a long run or a training day off, as runners we strive to build consistency. And so if a hard run knocks you out for the rest of the week—and then you have to rebuild your base, and in the meantime you polished off a Dominoes Pizza—that workout wasn’t worth the long-term equation. On the other hand, if speed work in the dark and cold led to a breakthrough: if you ran into the wind, surprised yourself, and then hit your next workout refuelled, the degree of difficulty would have proved a success. Since training is a process, says Flanagan, each run, each race, should set up the goal on your journey.
Even Ben Flanagan says our sport is about the long run, not about the sprint.
“When I’m faced with challenges, the two things I emphasize are motivation and momentum, and how will each of my specific decisions affect those two things,” Flanagan says. “Every once in a while, it’s not bad to go to deep uncomfortable states, but you have to prioritize sustainability and good habits. I found out the hard way that happiness over the long-term leads to better success than that naive mentality of grind-or-die.”
Since we all know running gets tough, especially in Canada in February, On wanted to extend a helping hand (or foot) to the iRun readers. Tell us how running makes you feel good, and two lucky runners will get merino socks, headband, and a toque or running cap, courtesy of On. A perfect serum for easing your suffering as we head towards spring.Leave your comments down below.
Like many Canadians, to me Bruce Kidd is a legend. My story with Bruce dates back to 1996 when I started running with the University of Toronto’s Junior Development Track and Field Program. First as a high school student, later transitioning to my undergraduate studies in 2000 I have fond memories seeing Bruce walking the halls of the Clara Benson building, where the indoor track is housed, with Liz Hoffman. These two people were such a duo changing sport for the better across the university and internationally. Aspirationally, I want to do similar work to Bruce and Liz.
I learned so much more about Kidd reading, A Runner’s Journey. And yes, as a fellow middle distance runner I was curious about the training he did to find success on the track, but more than that I wanted to get to know him through this memoir. Kidd literally changed the world through all the advocacy work he’s done and continues to do. From women’s sport to sport for development to physical buildings I use and work out of at the University, Kidd makes the world a better place.
Post-pandemic I think we all have an appreciation for the importance of physical activity in children’s lives, and even in our own lives. We think more clearly, we sleep better, we make better eating choices, so we perform better at work and/or school. Yet, there are more and more cutbacks to physical education from the aspect of time, money and where it is in children’s lives. As people go back to the office finding the time and space in their schedules to be active, despite knowing the benefits. Kidd weaves a narrative of how he continues to manage his own physical activity to help him be the best advocate.
BUY THE BOOK: Kidd waxes poetically and, prophetically, in A Runner’s Journey.
While Kidd benefited from a sports system that privileged high performance he immediately saw this program’s narrow focus shortcomings neglecting the social purpose. I’d go even further to argue that sport for development is needed alongside high performance sport, because without everyone in the system, the high performers do not have competitors to reach the pinnacle of their performance. Then layer on the social, economical, physical, emotional, and health benefits of sport for development.
Kidd took a road less travelled.
For most athletes, when they leave sport they are left confused as to what to do next. Kidd was so wrapped up in first his studies and advocacy work, and later as a leader and professor at the University of Toronto, that he had a natural place to land. And I think Kidd would also argue that his drive for excellence academically and professionally drove him for excellence on the track too.
I cannot wait to sit down with Bruce Kidd to learn more about his and your Runner’s Journey on Tuesday February 21st at 7pm EST. To sign up for the (free!) event, please click here.
Have a question for Bruce Kidd about A Runner’s Journey? To submit questions in advance of Sasha’s Stories, please use this link: https://forms.gle/K5MGYMuBcZ1ifWyr7
Founded in 1985 by Canadian Olympians and truly extraordinary people, Doug and Diane Clement, the Vancouver Sun Run is one of North America’s largest 10Ks, and was built upon being an event for us all.
“If I can get someone to walk the Sun Run one year and then walk-run it the next, we’re winning,” says Tim Hopkins, the Sun Run race director who has been at the helm of the west coast’s most popular running event since 2005. “We want to see people getting out, being active and making a physical change in their lifestyle and one thing that brings people back every year is the energy and positivity of the event—they fall in love with it, and it’s contagious.”
The Sun Run’s numbers have risen and fallen alongside running’s popularity crests and this year Hopkins has reason to be excited. With a boom happening in our sport since COVID, Hopkins delights in explaining the team aspect of his run, in which corporations and youth teams bring together groups of ten or more to participate.
“We’ve found through the years it’s a really healthy programs for schools, organizations and charities and brings people together in a fun way to challenge themselves,” says Hopkins, mentioning the Sun Run attracts close to one thousand teams and is looking to increase that number this year by offering each team their own customized race day shirts, complete with team names and numbers. “The team element of the Sun Run gives our event a particular identity of camaraderie and sportsmanship and it’s important to tell all of Canada that the program is still wide open and all are invited to join!”
Teams Work: The Vancouver Sun Run aims to attract as many as 1,000 teams.
While the Sun Run carries on an important tradition, it remains constantly iterating to attract the maximum number of Canadian athletes. According to Hopkins, we’re all athletes, and the mission of the Sun Run is to provide the largest, friendliest platform in the world.
“Doug and Diane are now in their late 80s and still participate in every Sun Run and they’re great ambassadors of the Sun Run mission—honestly, there’s nothing like it in the rest of Canada,” says Hopkins, with a smile. “Today, while we see a lot of new runners and new teams signing up, it feels like a new day for the Sun Run. I think the 2023 edition of the Vancouver Sun Sun will be a stepping stone for the next forty years.”
The Vancouver Sun Run is being held this year on April 16, 2023. For more information, please click here.
Our most popular story last year—by about the distance she beats most grown-up runners—was on Sawyer Nicholson, who, at 10-years-old, won the 5K at the Niagara Falls International Marathon. Being geniuses, we decided to check in on her again—and two days later she broke the provincial under-13 record in the indoor 2,000 metres (6:49:64) and set a PB, at the same meet, in the 1,200, running 3:57:84.
The kid is fast, and she’s only getting faster.
Little Feet: Sawyer en route to breaking the Athletics Ontario under-13 record.
“I like that I can express myself in my running and show people what I can do,” she told us, from her home in Stouffville, Ontario, a place that’s now been filmed by the CBC, who placed Sawyer at the centre of their evening news broadcast. “The number one thing I want to do is improve all my times and make them as fast as they can possibly can get this year. I really like being on the podium.”
The podium is a place Nicholson has grown increasingly comfortable on, since storming the running world with first place wins at the Zoo Run in Toronto and the 5K in Niagara Falls. To be clear: the 11-year-old isn’t only beating other children, she’s beating grown-up athletes, including men with Boston Marathon tattoos and $350 sneakers. Nicholson, who wears her hair dyed pink at the edges and had pizza both for lunch and dinner on the day last week when we spoke, doesn’t seem to be wilting under the pressure. She laughed often, and had a teddy bear visible on her bed. Often times her race bibs cover most of her shirt. But that’s not to belie her generational talent.
The kid runs like the wind.
“I don’t really think about stuff when I’m running, I kind of just think about getting to the end and how I’ll feel when it’s over and I’ve accomplished what I want to accomplish,” she said. “A lot of people are cheering for me and I want to keep pushing and it might hurt right now, but I’ve done races a lot and I know that feeling will soon be over, and I know that I’ll feel really proud.”
Small Wonder: Sawyer Nicholson, standing out from the crowd.
Her personal best in the 5K is 18:55; 3,000 metres is 10:45, and 1,500 metres is 5:04. All of these times are faster than mine and I’m the editor of iRun and wrote a marathon training book and have done Boston twice. She doesn’t spend much time thinking about her form and often her race strategy consists of: just go! It could be that Sawyer just loves running and it could be that grace is also part of her success. I asked her how she celebrates her wins.
“I make sure to say good job to everyone in the race because I would want people to do that to me,” she said. “It’s not really about the medal; like, someone might out-race you even if you have a great race, but it’s just like, ‘Oh man, wow – that person really ran a great race, you know? Congratulations!’ You shouldn’t be upset, just motivated to try again.”
Nicholson tried again after our conversation and set an Athletics Ontario record and brought her dream of running for Canada in this summer’s Junior Olympics one step closer to being real. With each passing race, the 11-year-old gains ground on her fellow runners, becoming one of Canada’s brightest stars. Could she be the next Lanni Marchant, Gabbi Stafford, Andre de Grasse or Krista DuChene? She doesn’t know, but she’s trying. I asked her what it feels like to be Canada’s fastest 11-year-old and she smiled.
The other day I hosted Sarah Kiriliuk and Luc Zoratto for a frank conversation about Canada’s new risk guidelines regarding alcohol and the two-drink-per-week limit for safe consumption. The conversation, since the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, made their recommendation has been divisive and vocal, illustrating how large a role alcohol plays in our lives.
“Good times we celebrate with alcohol, tough times we mourn with alcohol, it’s been ingrained with us for so long,” said Zoratto, a Boston Marathon finisher who has been six years alcohol free. His daughter is 3 years old and he posts often about drinking and running on his Instagram handle, @marathon2sobriety. “Alcohol is pervasive in society, but I’ve also seen a huge change in the perception of alcohol around the new guidelines and I don’t think it’s about ‘sober vs. not sober,’ but rather just being mindful: why do we drink? This week has been good for paying attention.”
Sarah Kiriliuk is the founder of SomeGoodCleanFun and a runner who once held a benefit jog called #DanforthStrong two days after the 2018 shooting in her neighbourhood. Luc calls her a celebrity in the alcohol-free world, and Sarah has strong views. When I mentioned that some runners, including Olympians, have defended their drinking, she said: “That says something about the pervasiveness of alcohol that an Olympian would defend a carcinogen.”
She has begun a campaign that she calls Rethinking Drinking.
“When you stop and think about it, it’s not necessarily that what you crave is wine, but rather you want someone to rub your feet,” she says. “We’ve normalized alcohol through ingrained messaging: ‘have some wine, it will solve all your problems.’ But we know that’s not true and it’s important to remember that and find healthy solutions to our problems. The idea is to eliminate involuntary actions.”
Kiriliuk, who stopped running two years ago though vows to return—she says her running became punitive, and she associated it with punishing herself and looks to explore that relationship—says runners doing Dry January may want to extend their streak into February, and beyond. (As a runner currently practicing Dry January, I found her words rang true).
“You don’t need alcohol to enjoy an engagement and it’s just about ingrained re-programming about how we live and behave,” she says. “To be clear: the new Canadian guidelines say that zero drinks is the best for you, and two drink-per-week is low risk—there is still a risk of cancer with alcohol consumption, it’s only that the risk goes down with the less you consume.”
Luc says that it makes sense for the running community to pay special attention to the new study.
“In the running community, I think we all want to be healthy. We’re all in the same family,” he says, “At the very least the new guidelines are positive because it tells us all to take a second, pause, and think about our relationship with alcohol.”
With many races now offering a free beer at the finish line and run crews famously enjoying post-long run brews at brunch—one of the most famous and largest global run clubs is the Harriers, who bills itself as a drinking club with a running problem—it could be time for runners to examine their relationship with booze. “You work hard and you need to reward yourself, I get that culture,” says Luc, “but why do you need that drink and what’s the going to do for you? I think it’s just about asking yourself questions, which is always something healthy to do.”
Runners are health conscious by nature and we train, and abstain and work hard, because we have goals that we’re trying to achieve. We all want to feel good and enjoy success, both in and out of our running shoes. The attention around the new alcohol guidelines help highlight the alcohol conversation for our community. People love drinking. Runners included. Everyone needs to make their own decisions, but all we’re trying to do is promote the conversation. Be conscious of your choices. Celebrate your free will.
“When it comes to drinking, just like sugar or anything else, it’s all about making healthy choices,” says Sarah of SomeGoodCleanFun. “This is not a conversation about sobriety, this is a conversation about wellness and health and that’s important for everyone—whether or not you run.”
I’ve always said that I will know it’s time to make a change based on how I feel. And now more than ever is the perfect time to finish writing this marathon chapter of my life.
I’m not saying I’m finished running; I know I will always want to run. In fact, next on my bucket list is a jump down to a cross country race and up to a 50 miler. And there will always be another marathon. But while we will have our three kids at home for only one more school year, I want to have more time and energy for other things. I want to cook more decent meals again with less thrown together. I want to return to baking cookies instead of buying them. And amongst other things, I want to stay up later at night and be able to get our boys from the gym while not hiding in my pyjamas.
JUST KIDS: Krista on her way to 2:39:07 at the 2010 Tamarack Ottawa Marathon, her first National Championship.
The best part about this marathon journey is that I wanted it simply because I enjoyed running and setting goals. Although we never needed it as a source of income for our family, it and the other paths I earned along with it, became one. While we were able to upgrade my van with some of the prize money I earned from unexpectedly placing third at the Boston Marathon, we were content with the one I had.
I could train and compete locally and at an international level for the pure joy of it.
Recently, while at my daughter’s hockey practice, I was asked how my training was going for my next marathon. I explained that this one was different, much like how I felt when I knew it was my last pregnancy or some other “last” life event. It would likely be the final time I’d invest this much in the event I had done for the past 21 years. The dads nodded their heads and we continued to chat. And then, one commented that I was fortunate to do it on my terms, which resonated with me; I most definitely am.
JUST DID IT: After completing her Olympic marathon in 2016 in Brazil, Krista DuChene finds her husband for a kiss.
My first marathon was something I wanted to try for fun, after retiring from hockey and returning to running. It led me to become the (then) second fastest Canadian with a time one hour faster than my first. It also gave me the opportunity to later compete for Canada at the 2013 World Championships and 2016 Olympic Games. In more recent years I was able to compete in the professional field at the 2017 London, 2018 Boston, 2019 Berlin, 2021 New York City, and 2022 Chicago World Marathon Majors, placing first three times, fifth, and third respectively in the masters (40+) category.
Knowing I was accepted into the professional field at this year’s 2023 Tokyo Marathon—the sixth and final World Marathon Major—would make for a perfect finale.
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO: DuChene in Iten, Kenya, a profound experience along her marathon of life.
My one and only DNF (Did Not Finish), in the countless races I’ve done, at the World Championships, will cost me bragging rights to say I am one of only a handful of people in the world to complete all six World Marathon Majors, the Olympic Games, and World Championships. I believe the ones who have completed all eight marathons are four women: Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), Nuta Olaru (Romania), Aly Dixon (U.K.), Deena Kastor (USA) and one man, Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya).
Here’s a brief Q&A I’ve held with myself recently, based upon what others have asked me.
What are some of your career highlights?
Running into the arms of my family after becoming an Olympian in 2016.
Learning I placed third overall—not third master—after finishing the Boston Marathon in 2018.
Being the first woman in 20 years to qualify for the Olympic Games Marathon—less than twelve months after fracturing my femur in 2014.
Racing for Canada in the Chiba Ekiden Relay in Japan in 2012.
Training in Kenya for a month in 2017.
Setting the Canadian 50K record in 2021.
Having a top eight Canadian marathon time ten times between 2009 to 2021.
Winning my first National Marathon Championship in my first Saucony race kit in 2010.
MARATHON MOM: DuChene at the 2019 Berlin Marathon. Tokyo will complete her quest to run all the world’s majors.
What are some career highlights that you earned along with running?
Broadcasting the 2020 Olympic Games.
Sharing my story at public speaking engagements, giving hope to a child who “thought you had to be from a big city to make it to the Olympics.”
LEGENDS OF THE FALL: DuChene, with Lanni Marchant and Sylvia Ruegger, at the 2013 Waterfront Marathon in Toronto when both Lanni and Krista broke the 28 year marathon record.
What’s next? What else might you like to try?
Cross Country and 50 miler races.
Running in Australia and Antarctica, the only two remaining continents I haven’t run in.
Continuing to coach with Coolsaet GO as well as volunteer coach with our high school track athletes, pacing the occasional workout—as well as beating our two sons in a fun race while I can (distance to be determined).
I am currently very much looking forward to setting other exciting and appropriate running goals for my stage in life, or not, and just running—for the pure joy of it.
I am tired of Dry January. I’m beginning to wonder what the point even is. Is it effective? Who knows.
I do know it’s a bad feeling when you feel like you’re working too hard with too little break time and deprivation—much like along the lines of dieting or trying to save money—becomes a way of life. If you cut yourself too close to the bone there’s no way that anything can possibly last.
And so: do I carry on or throw in the towel? Give myself a break or, is the desire for a break (from a break from alcohol), proof positive that I should wait out the month? Again: no one knows.
This week, of course, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction updated their guidelines for low-risk drinking for the first time since 2011. More than two drinks at any one time increases health risks, read the report, and more than six drinks-per-week, especially for women, goes beyond “moderate” risk into something more scary: premature death, and cancer, are just some of the side effects for seemingly low intake of booze. More than ever the research around alcohol seems to say that, if you can avoid beer, wine and spirits, then do so. Water, seemingly always, is the more healthy choice.
However, carrots are also the healthier choice over McDonald’s french fries and it’s probably better for you to read Margaret Atwood than watch the Maple Leafs game. But the question remains about unintended consequences. I remember my first Dry January I posted a photo of my survival tools and there was chocolate milk and a case of Perrier and, given the calories in Hershey’s syrup and all those bottles to recycle, someone commented: is the cure not worse than the disease?
Plus, when you go through life white-knuckled, are you a grumpier human being? Less tolerant of your children at homework time and more obsessive about every bit of information you can gleam on your run from your watch? In short: are you not squeezing the fun out of life? Or am I asking the wrong questions?
It’s certainly a conversation worth having and a discussion that only gets better from the more voices that can be heard. And so iRun will host an Instagram Live Monday, January 23, 2023, 10:30AM EST with @marathon2sobriety, pictured above, six years sober and a recent veteran of the Boston Marathon, and our old friend Sarah Kiriliuk, pictured at the top, Canada’s leading non-alcoholic drinks expert, who runs the SomeGoodCleanFun.com, and is a long-time runner and vocal member of the running community.
What do you think of running and alcohol and Dry January and the new liquor recommendations? In your life, should booze stay or should it go? Let us know in the comments and join us at @IRunNation Monday, January 23, at 10:30AM EST. We want to hear from you all.
If you are a survivor reading this, please know that your experience, voice, and journey matter. For nearly 50 years, the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre (ORCC) has advocated for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Ottawa and the surrounding region. Unfortunately, the need for the supports that ORCC offers is just as critical today as the day it opened in 1974. In fact, a recent study from the Canadian Women’s Foundation found that “64% of people in Canada know a woman who has experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse.” (Canadian Women’s Foundation, 2021).
It will genuinely take collective efforts to end sexual violence. This is where Run Ottawa comes in. This partnership helps spread the word about the community’s needs and provides opportunities for raising funds to support survivors directly.
“It’s not an easy conversation to be had and not a well understood space—it comes with a stigma—but we know that we need to address this kind of violence together as a community,” says Candice Shaw, Executive Director of the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre. “When people don’t understand structural violence, I use the racecourse analogy as if life was the start line for a race: we’re all expecting to participate, but we’re not all starting at the same point. In the case of what we do at the ORCC, it’s all about supporting people in their [healing] journey so we can all have the ability to determine what our lives look like—to live, in a sense, and be free to determine our own path.”
As runners, this analogy of the route hits home. When starting from different points in life (or on a course), any support available can make all the difference. For this reason and more, we are entirely grateful to be selected for a second consecutive year to be Ian Fraser’s not-for-profit of choice for the Desjardins Charity Challenge at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 2023 and to be part of the Run Ottawa and broader running community.”
Fraser has a long history of soliciting donations, starting when he opened his former business Cyclelogik. This year he has set his goal to turbo-charge his fundraising. As Team Captain for STRIDES4ORCC, Ian has committed to running virtually to various sexual assault support centre locations throughout Eastern Ontario while bringing awareness about sexual and gender-based violence further out into the open.
Put simply: we want to promote conversations and actions toward ending sexual violence in our communities.
Freedom found in our shoes is one of the greatest gifts of our sport. Ian Fraser, race director of the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, says his love of running invokes that feeling of boundlessness and release. “Physical health promotes mental health, and running is such a freedom that to think our loved ones and neighbours could be unsafe in our own communities is barbaric,” says Fraser, adding that the thousands of dollars he hopes to raise for ORCC through the Desjardins Charity Challenge at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend are used on such things as counselling and crisis services, and fundamental necessities like safe housing, food, and clothing. “Violence against women and abuse of all kinds is reprehensible, unfathomable, and the ORCC provides an essential service with a mission I’m proud to stand within our community.”
It’s not only in Ottawa where non-profit organizations like the ORCC need and provide help. Dr. Shaw says ORCC is a member of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) as well as the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) and that across the country, many groups are tirelessly working, and need volunteers and fundraising support to carry out their missions. She’s thankful for what Fraser and the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend are building to help draw attention to her network—and she encourages everyone to take an active role in changing the world.
“You have the right to show up in your life the way you choose, and if someone is dealing with violence, it’s our job as an organization and our role as a community to support those who need help,” says Shaw, who’s actively growing her team at Strides 4 ORCC and looks forward to meeting as many people as possible at the big race in May. “Some people run for a finishing time, others run for a release, but whatever your reason, we look at life the same way: it’s your journey, and you have the right to choose your own path. We’re here to support survivors so they can look at life, and running, the same way.”
To donate to Strides 4 ORCC, visit their team page. To keep up with Fraser as he runs virtually, raising money for Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, follow him and Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend on Instagram @idfraserinotown and @ottawaracewknd.
The year was 2020. The pandemic was in full force and vaccines still seemed like eons away. I was in need of an additional form of entertainment to help “fill the void” left by the pandemic. Since I couldn’t take vacations overseas like I would typically enjoy doing, I decided to take “vacations” in my own city by exploring new neighbourhoods on my own two feet. This evolved into a passion for “Citystriding,” which refers to runners who are seeking to run every street in their city.
Citystriders are referred to as such because they have signed up for an account on Citystrides.com, which overlays all of their GPS-tracked running activities onto the same map, giving them the ability to see clearly which streets they have run on and which they haven’t.
There are over 50,000 people in more than 100 countries currently attempting to run every block in their cities and almost 5-million streets around the world have been documented as run. Meanwhile, Citystrides calculates what percentage of the city you have completed, so you know exactly how much you’ve done and what you have remaining.When I first registered my Citystrides account I was sure I had conquered a decent chunk of Toronto—it turned out I had only finished around 5% of the city.
Seen on my run: Just some of the murals Brian Putre has captured along his adventures.
I had work to do.
Fast forward to 2023. Travel is now possible and social gatherings are back on the agenda, but Citystriding has not gone away. In fact, it is now more popular than ever. Another Toronto runner, Conor Hoekstra, pictured with me at the top of this piece, took up Citystriding more recently, in 2022, after the world already started to open back up. Conor and I are teammates and friends at BlackToe Running, and are now also “friendly rivals” who are taking different approaches to completing all of Toronto’s streets.
My career is in transportation and urban planning, and accordingly I’m motivated by the experience of it all, while running Toronto’s streets. I even run the trails and pathways that don’t ‘count’ towards my percentage completion of Toronto, just because I enjoy exploring them and truly soaking in Toronto’s urban fabric. Getting the chance to see neighbourhoods I wouldn’t normally otherwise visit has been fascinating and rewarding. There is something quite beautiful about the neverending hills and bungalows that make up the Caledonia-Fairbank neighbourhood. And I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the Jane and Finch area as it has a bit of a bad rap, but the people I ran by there were all friendly, quick to offer me a smile and a wave as I ran by. Additionally, as someone who puts a lot of effort into training seriously for my goal races, it’s nice to have this more lighthearted, less “serious” running goal to balance things out.
Conor’s career is different from mine. His field is in math and computer programming, and accordingly when he sets out on a Citystrides run, he finds joy in identifying and then running the most efficient pathways to complete the city. “Citystrides is like Pokémon Go, but with running and without the Pokémon,” says Conor, who has been completing approximately 50 streets per run with this strategy. “There are ways to be strategic about it.”
It goes to show you that there is no right or wrong way to be a Citystrider.
Citystriding can be whatever you want it to be.
With Conor’s strategic approach, he recently leapfrogged me in the Citystrides leaderboard for Old Toronto, despite being at it for a much shorter time. Meanwhile, I hit a milestone of my own, having recently reached 50% completion for the City of Toronto (including East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and York, in addition to Old Toronto). Suffice it to say we are both having fun and are motivated to continue our respective Citystrides journeys.
Conor and I are far from the only two in Toronto and across Canada who are Citystriding. What I didn’t realize at the time that I started this was that Citystriders are actually a community within the running community, and a pretty special community at that. When you try to do something crazy, like run all 10,427 streets in your city, that’s the kind of thing that brings people together.
I’ve made new friends through Citystrides and I’ve been on runs with other Toronto-based Citystriders and exchanged tips with them for how best to complete some challenging streets in the city. For example, there is a street in East York called Forestry Service Road that isn’t really a part of the city’s main transportation network. However, I learned it can be accessed via a mountain bike trail in the East Don Valley that would be easy to miss if you didn’t know where to look. Not only was I able to complete this street with the help of my Citystrides friends, but I got some epic views of the Don Valley and the East Don River in the process.
So far, the other Citystriders I’ve met have been in Toronto, but I’d be keen to meet other Citystriders in other Canadian cities, share stories, and perhaps be each other’s tour guides when visiting each other’s cities. After all, who better than a Citystrider to know all the best running spots in their city!
When I first started running, I assumed it was a solo sport. While running is indeed a personal endeavour, it’s something I’ve come to realize is made better with friends. My BlackToe friends keep me motivated to achieve my racing goals, and my Citystrides friends keep me motivated to continue exploring my wonderful city. At the end of the day running is supposed to be fun, and the more fun I can have while doing it, the more I improve as a runner, the greater the benefits are to my physical and mental health, and the more rewarding the whole experience of running is.
Whether you are looking to run every street in your city, or if you are simply curious as to what your map looks like, or are wanting to find out more about how Citystriding works, feel free to visit Citystrides.com and create your own profile.You can find me there and I’ll be happy to lend you a hand.
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