Hailing from the UK, Jo has been a secret admirer of runners since she was a child watching the London marathon. Now, between juggling her job as a full-time registered massage therapist and her role as mom to two young girls, this 37-year-old has “decided to take up running in all that spare time that I don’t have!” Since making the “rash statement” of wanting to learn to run, Jo’s eldest daughter has also caught the running bug. The two recently set off running down the street, with Jo’s youngest daughter biking beside them as a quasi support vehicle (“She had packed water, arnica cream and band-aids—just in case!”). We were impressed by the girl power exhibited by this mother-daughter team effort!

A banker by day, 35-year-old Tyler recently decided to train for a marathon. And by “decided,” he means that “my wife has given me permission to train for the full.” A dedicated family man with two young children (a three-year-old and a six-month-old), Tyler says it’s a constant challenge to find more time to run. He says that his wife wants him to run because it’s good for his heart, but he’s slightly suspicious that the real reason might be because his body “was beginning to look more and more like a pear,” and “she doesn’t like pears.” We wish him the best of luck in becoming the fruit of his wife’s dreams!

Dana’s first attempts at running started at age 15, prompted by the desire to impress a boy. “Thankfully, the boy in question appreciated her other charms and running was quickly abandoned,” she says of her younger self. The habit finally stuck about two years ago, however, and she has since co-founded a two-person running team called “The Fighting Mongooses.” Dana offers great advice in her blogs, such as to think twice about the Toronto Zoo 10k. “A strong whiff of elephant dung is not the reward you’re looking for when you’ve just crested yet another f-ing hill in the freezing cold,” she advises. She also entertains with stories of, um, interesting people she met during races. “There was that guy in the short robe two years ago who invited us back to his house for pancakes after the race — we decided to keep running.” Funny and smart is a winning combo in our books!

A runner for almost two years, Terry recently had the mildly traumatic experience of trying to find a flattering pair of running pants (“Isn’t running about pushing personal boundaries and just getting out there and moving? Except when you don’t look in the least bit like Paula Radcliffe.”). But although she may have been a bit embarrassed by “helpful handsome guy” at the store, she keeps a great perspective through her running experiences. Pushing through a number of injuries early in her running career, she got right back to training for her next race. “The feeling of elation when I crossed the finish line is unimaginable,” says Terry. Sounds like she’s hooked for good!

As a technical writer, Laura renewed her interest in running to “conquer the bulge and regain the energy and focus I used to have when being very active.” A seasoned blogger at hoodieruns.blogspot.com, she writes about everything from running to knitting, nutrition and the “hamster wheel (aka the treadmill!).” Laura’s goals include running a marathon before her 25th birthday and attaining new 5k PR, and she blogs to stay motivated. “My reasoning was that if anyone and everyone, including loved ones, could read about how many runs I missed it would become pretty embarrassing and I’d be motivated to get out and run,” she says. From the looks of her workout reports, it seems to be working!

Self-described “running nerds,” Vicky and Grant are co-workers who “spend their lunch hours at the nearest bookstore and will often be seen around the office getting excited about a new energy bar or running gadget.” The duo captured our attention with their unique (double) take on Running Blog Idol, pledging to address a host of different topics including Canadian running heroes. Their submission to our contest even included a sample vlog (available at youtube.com/watch?v=oy4oDokN1Qo), which they promise is “but only a mere example of the lengths we are willing to go in order to share our experience, knowledge, research and general ramblings.” Holy multimedia, Batman!

A new runner, 24-year-old Dennis recently participated in the 10k Festival City Run in Stratford, ON. While the distance seemed rather long (“First, let me just point out that 10 kilometres is 10,000 metres.”) and his chest felt “like a volcano” at the end of the race, he maintains that he actually enjoyed his first-ever, long-distance run. When he’s not working on Parliament Hill, Dennis is now busy training for the Ottawa Marathon – an ambitious goal for a newbie. He has even joined the ranks of those “crazy” and “insane” people who bundle up to run in sub-zero temperatures. Now that’s dedication!

A runner for just over four years, Karen has already completed a marathon, two half marathons and a variety of 5k and 10k races. She describes her first marathon – the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last September – as “a nightmare.” However, she met a very interesting person in the process – a man named Sydney who was running his 152nd marathon! Although the race didn’t go as well as planned for Karen or Sydney, he showed her that no matter how experienced a runner you are, you can still have a bad day. “Does that mean we shouldn’t bother to prepare, or maybe just shouldn’t bother at all? Of course not!” says Karen. “In the end, it is what we make it.” We like her optimism!

I ran my first indoor meet on the weekend at the beautiful facility at the University of Washington in Seattle. This was an invitational meet with a very competitive university field featuring varsity runners from the US most of whom were trying to make NCAA standard. The UVic Vikes had athletes competing in different events and heats and everyone PBd in their event which was fantastic! We all went out to dinner the night before and ate a great meal at The Keg.

Waiting for my race the next day was tough. I ran in the second fastest heat of the 3000m which was in the late afternoon on the Saturday, (Valentine’s Day) which happened to be my 41st birthday! It was a long wait and I felt a sense of relief once I started doing my strides. My team-mates were so wonderful with assuring me that I would be fine and would have a blast racing on an indoor track. I stood at the start-line, feeling excited and scared hoping I would survive running such a short and fast race. The race ended up being great fun. I ran well but reflecting back I probably ran a bit too relaxed in the first 1200m and had to make up a lot of ground in the last km. I couldn’t hear any splits so relied on Brent’s advice as I ran by. I moved up from about 13th position to finish 4th in a time of 9:39. I was pleased with my effort and know I can run faster so I am looking forward to our next race which will be in two weeks in Regina for the Canada West Track & Field Championships.

When I came back from my cool-down, I was given a birthday pie in the face! The girls on the team planned it so that when I came back from my warm-up they asked me to pose for a picture and that’s when I got it right in the kisser! It was very funny!