Pauline Davis-Thompson is a racing pioneer with three Olympic medals at five Olympic Games under her belt and the prestigious title of being the first Black woman on the management board of the World Athletics council. She was a central figure in the Russian anti-doping campaign, which makes her reflections very timely right now, and she’s recently written the terrific book, Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track & Field History. Ben Kaplan spoke to Pauline and left the conversation inspired. 

Ben Kaplan: Where are we reaching you this morning, Pauline? 

Pauline Davis-Thompson: The beautiful island of the Bahamas. Sending you some heat, I can’t even imagine what it’s currently like in Canada.

BK: Cold, indeed. Let’s get right into it. Obviously with Russia in the news and your experience with taking on Russia in your anti-doping work, what can you tell us about your thoughts on the war in the Ukraine? 

PDT: I’ve visited Ukraine and it’s a beautiful place with warm, friendly people and obviously this is a terrible situation. I feel terrible for the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian athletes. 

BK: I think this war is hitting people really hard. 

PDT: These past few days I’ve just felt really upset because I love democracy and my time in the Ukraine was really impactful. I’ve been on my knees, praying and praying and praying and asking God to cover the Ukrainian people. 

BK: Let’s go back to your early days. 

PDT: I grew up in the ghetto. 

BK: The ghetto? 

PDT: Yeah, and I didn’t even realize we were poor, but I think that’s where I found my mental toughness. 

BK: Were you always fast? 

PDT: As a kid, I ran everywhere. I never walked. And a lot of people would say I’d one day become a great athlete. They thought I moved around the ghetto like a whip. They’d go: There goes Pauline!        

BK: Could you see a future for yourself in running shoes? 

PDT: I wasn’t aware of wanting to be a great track athlete until I went to junior high and casually went out to make the team and, when I didn’t make it, I cried and cried. That’s when the seed was planted. 

BK: That seed grew quickly because, as a high schooler, you ran in your first Olympics. 

PDT: At 14-years-old, I became the Bahamas top sprinter. But what I really remember is, in 1982, racing against the Jamaicans and having them beat us every year. I told my team, They’re not winning next year. I was just a little kid. But the next year we raced the Jamaicans, I won the 100m, 200m, 400m and the long jump—the first time in history any athlete had ever done that. 

BK: How did your life change? 

PDT: Well, I was still living in the ghetto, but they dubbed me, the Golden Girl.

BK: And when you got to the Olympics?

PDT: I was like a kid in the candy store. I remember this young American silver medallist gave me a pair of tights in Helsinki and, just like that, I was the first Bahamian to race in tights!  

BK: Between 1984 and 2000, you made five Olympic teams. Does it ever become routine? 

PDT: Routine? The Olympic Games? No, no, no—that’s impossible! 

BK: How did the experience change? 

PDT: I was much more focused as I became more mature. Nothing phased me. I was living in the zone and nobody was allowed to come into the zone. I had no idea what was happening around me. I was that clued in.

BK: Marion Jones would ultimately get disqualified for a doping violation when you got your 2000 gold medal in Sydney. What’s your take on doping? 

PDT: They’re gutless, spineless athletes who take drugs, morally warped. 

BK: Were you ever tempted, given the rampant use amongst your competitors? 

PDT: I never had any desire to take any drugs. God gave me a gift, a gift of purpose, and he’s going to allow me to shine. I have strong faith and that’s my mentality. 

BK: At 55-years-old, what’s changed about your life since your racing days? 

PDT: I don’t feel 55. I exercise, coach, eat healthy, and really practice appreciation. I can’t believe how far I’ve come from the ghetto in the Bahamas to a council member for 14 years and the first Black woman on the council and the five Olympics, you know: wow. 

BK: Really it’s an amazing story. 

PDT: My mother always says, Sweet pea, baby, it ain’t how you start, it’s how you finish. I’m proud to have set the table for other Caribbean women in sport. Your circumstances don’t determine what you do in your life.

Top photo credit, the Nassau Guardian. Middle credit, the University of Alabama Athletics.

When Toronto Mayor Rob Ford begin running in order to lose weight, the Mayor was outspoken and ambitious. He wanted to lose 50 pounds and called his journey: “Cut the Waist.” At the time, I was a reporter with the National Post and had just started a running column, and I wanted to understand what Mayor Ford’s training looked like. I went to Scarlett Heights High School, near his home in Etobicoke in the winter of 2012, and randomly found him there. He was aiming to run 20 laps around the football field. He was wearing cotton sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt and, though snow was on the ground, his face was red and he was sweating.

“Gotta get it done,” he said when I caught up with. He was out of breath.

Mayor Rob Ford was a lot of things, but this isn’t a political column. This is a running column and plenty of new people have come to our sport during COVID-19. There’s lessons to be learned from the Mayor’s earnest attempt at losing weight and running; an attempt which, ultimately, failed. But why did it fail? For new runners getting into the sport, or even continuing runners looking to keep up their training in pursuit of a spring PB, here’s some takeaways from reviewing my running days with Mayor Rob Ford.

First, what worked.

Mayor Ford publicized his goals. It’s well known that if you have a goal, and announce it to the world, that goal is more likely to be achieved than if you keep it quiet. The Mayor announced that he’d lose 50 pounds in a City Hall press conference, and then scheduled weekly weigh-ins to publicly hold himself to the fire. These are good ideas. What’s your goal for the spring? Tell people. And this is why apps like Strava or RunKeeper are addictive—document your progress. You can’t get to a half marathon in Ottawa in late May without first getting a 10K under your belt next month. Make a goal, and document your progress.

The running worked adjacent with his dieting goals. Running doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If you really want to achieve something in your running shoes this spring, make sure your diet corresponds. It’s not just long runs and speed work, but also work in massage. Stretching. Do the little things. So often runners run and just run—it’s what we love to do and it takes up lots of time. But if you can also watch your diet, cut out junk food, avoid late nights, get a good night’s sleep, your running will simultaneously improve. Run, but also do the other stuff. Take the stairs.

Train where you’re comfortable. When I went to find Mayor Ford, I found him in the first place I looked: the track closest to his home. This is a good thing. You don’t want to make your running overly elaborate, and so it’s a chore just to begin. Set yourself up for success. Running blocks around your home is where I began running, and it’s still where I run today. Make the work the stuff you do in your sneakers, make everything else as simple as can be. This starts with where you’re running. The Mayor ran outside his home. Run where it’s easy to run, and keep it consistent. Run close to home.

Now, what didn’t work.

The Mayor was soaking wet in his cottons. It was 2012 when the Mayor started running. But running technology was already much more advanced than dressing like a work-from-home day on Zoom. Lycra and poly-blend running-specific clothing are no longer very expensive and, when spending a few dollars on the proper gear, you’re much more likely to stick with the sport. Mayor Ford didn’t look like a runner when I saw him outside hustling. He looked like a football coach, which he was. Dress for the sport and it will help put you in the mindset of successfully completing your goal—it’s not only more comfortable and more effective, but it will give you a psychological edge. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but get the proper running gear. You won’t like swimming either if your bathing suit keeps falling off.

The Mayor was running all alone. What if the Mayor had someone on staff who he was running with, and the two of them had signed up for the Sporting Life 10K? What if he trained with the Running Room or, where I run, BlackToe? Just like how announcing your goal makes it more likely to happen, so does training with a group of people for a common race. Having teammates keeps you accountable, plus it makes it more fun. It turns makes running, something physical, also something social: accomplishing two intrinsic human needs. Wherever you are in the country, there’s likely a run club. Difficult things are harder when we’re on our own. Seek out a group or team in your training. Running is an individual sport, but it’s better achieved when you’re not on your own. Run with a crew or a friend.

Don’t make your goal too massive. Mayor Rob Ford rarely went for half-measures. But, I’d argue, he would’ve had a better success ratio if he bit off as much as he chewed. Instead of trying to lose 50 pounds, he could’ve shot for losing ten-pounds five times. Before giving up on his weight loss program, he’d lost 22 pounds. Mayor Ford could’ve celebrated his success. I always tell people shooting for the marathon, run a 10K first. Make your goals achievable. And celebrate each one. Create your own momentum. Before you run a marathon, get your running consistent. We shouldn’t be in a race to achieve change, we want to create a sustainable new way of life. Set yourself goals you can likely achieve. Celebrate your journey. If the goal is miserable, you’re likely only to achieve it once.

Mayor Rob Ford is a divisive figure from a chaotic period of time. But when I think back of our run together, I wish I could’ve helped him, like I’m sure so many people have thought about his life. As a runner, the Mayor had so much potential. For all the new people entering our sport, there’s things you can learn from, and mistakes to avoid, from Mayor Rob Ford.

Photograph of Ben Kaplan with Mayor Rob Ford on January 22, 2012. Photo by CJ Baek.