2020 began as 2019 had ended—awesomely. As 2019 wound down, I found myself back in the Atacama Desert, a place I love and which I’d crossed 1,200K north to south in 2011. This time, I was there guiding a group with my company KapiK1 and we had an absolute blast in that week in the driest place on Earth. In early January I completed a solo Arctic expedition that I had been dreaming up for years and in mid-February I was in Siberia, guiding a group of clients across Lake Baikal, once again with my buddies and KapiK1.
Sights were set on returning home and preparing for a series of Impossible2Possible Youth Expeditions! (There were even more plans after that; 2020 was going to be a crazy busy year!) But when I returned home from Russia, things were about to change—we all know what happened next.
As COVID hit, all of our lives were disrupted for the foreseeable future. After such an awesome 2019, everything shut down for me in 2020, as it did for so many of us. The races I organized were all cancelled, our KapiK1 expeditions postponed to 2021—as well as my personal expeditions—and with all travel limited, my usual sources of income dried up. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to never underestimate our capacity to adapt and do what we need to do. During the toughest months of the pandemic, I wrote a few posts on FB and Instagram about what I felt were critical topics: uncertainty, resilience and perseverance.
Uncertainty.
That’s really what we are all fearing the most. We know COVID is a horrible virus making many people sick, and the numbers of those dying are on the rise. But it’s that ‘unknown,’ navigating the uncertainty of what the future holds that seems the most daunting. Going for groceries has become an exercise in virus mitigation, the uncertainty of whether you’ll get infected or unknowingly spread the virus to those we love is stressful. Most of us are at home, either teleworking or out of work. The uncertainty of the economy is scary. I know for sure my business has suffered, which creates uncertainty for how I’ll take care of my family. Our daughters were out of school for weeks and now with September on the horizon, there’s more uncertainty for them and us. I know that a huge expedition I had planned for the fall is now on hold until 2021. I’ve pivoted to another massive winter, unsupported expedition in the Canadian Arctic that we’ve been planning, but still uncertainty on my 2020 expeditions occupies my mind. But the way I see it, we have a choice.
We can stay focused on the uncertainty and worry constantly, losing sleep and our health (both physical and mental), or we can do what each of us needs to do to move past this as safely and effectively as possible—staying focused on what we can do each day. Instead of fear, we can instead think of the potential of what we will learn from this, and how we can mobilize together to tackle future challenges the world faces.
We can make the best of the times that we can. I know that the upside of the kids being home is that we find the time each day for family activities and adventures in our backyard. My training is focused on being as healthy as I can be. My head is in a positive outcome and better future. I can’t help but be an optimist, and my belief in people is as steadfast as always. And I’m choosing to sleep well at night. I hope you are too!
Resilience.
It’s something we all need a little of these days. We are in it for the long haul, we’ve made it this far and we can’t give up now. These are words that I’m using a lot these days, but they are words I’ve used so, so many times in the past, too.
I have literally had my ass handed to me a hundred times, on a hundred different days on many past expeditions. There’s been times when I was sure I couldn’t continue, times when I was sure it was over. I mean, really, really believing I was finished. But there would always be this small, tiny, microscopic flame of hope in me that would compel me to get up. To start another day. To keep going. To keep pushing.
It took a long time and many expeditions (I’m stubborn!) to learn that this was basically ‘resilience.’ Slowly, but surely—one expedition after another, one beating after another, I learned to become resilient. I learned that through commitment and perseverance I could overcome huge obstacles. I could finish what I set out to do. These days, I think often about past expeditions and what I’ve learned. I think the most important lesson I’ve learned over and over is that human beings are capable of extraordinary things. I don’t mean me. I mean us. In each and every one of us is the capacity to overcome this huge challenge we are faced with. We just need to keep it up. We can’t give up. We will make it to the other side of this. Stronger and wiser.
Perseverance.
Tomorrow won’t be the same as today, that’s for sure. It’s pretty much the only guarantee we have right now. The eventual conclusion of this crisis is already written, and we know it will happen, but it’s our resolve and our ‘will’ that will get us there—to a day that at this point seems far away. We all have the ability to persevere, even when we think we can’t. Trying to find daily motivation or the drive to simply get through another day, can at times seem—or feel—impossible. But we all have the ability to dig deep when we need to. Sometimes we just need a little reminder.
My ring has become a reminder of what’s possible, that I look to whenever I’m at my lowest points. I glance at it and remind myself ‘I can do this.’ My ring has been with me every step of the way since our 7,500km run across the Sahara. It’s been a steady partner on expeditions across the Arctic, Antarctica, Siberia, the Gobi, Atacama, Namib deserts and more. Midway, through our Sahara traverse, in early 2007, I had remarked to one of our guides (and professional smuggler) Adoua, that his ring was really cool. The Tuareg people are great artists, especially with silver. He explained to me that this ring was made for him by a friend in a remote desert outpost, and was very special. I was mesmerized by not only the ring, but the story he told me about it. A month or so passed, and on my birthday, Adoua handed me a ball of crumpled paper, a huge grin on his face. It was the ring and though I refused to accept it, he refused my refusal.
It’s been on my hand ever since, and in the toughest of days, frozen in the Arctic or lost in the mountains of the Gobi, or in times of personal uncertainty, I look to my ring and draw strength from my memories of my friends in the Sahara, and the tremendous odds we overcame there. It’s a reminder to me that with perseverance, we all have the ability to get through anything. Even times like these.
2020, the year of the pandemic. Stopped, postponed, cancelled, changed and waiting to hear what the way ahead is. Running parents have been home with their children for more time than any other time in their lives. Home-schooling, job loss, working from home, multi-tasking, stressed about money, job security, fear and anxiety about COVID-19 and struggling to unplug children from video games with few other options or activities.
If 2020 were a marathon, it would be one you started, had a herd of feathered hippos run through at the 10k mark and you then find yourself on a hamster wheel—all by yourself—with no end in sight and no idea what is going on, with no medal or water station, banana or shirt.
It got weird fast.
Runners with kids have normally looked to their love of lacing up to help them relieve stress, keep them happy and give themselves something to look forward to during hard times. Running has personally accompanied me through 33-years of my life and helped me navigate a few dips and dark valleys in my life.
Running to stay in shape, to feel good or to train for a marathon, race, or goal, in the gym or outside has been something runners have in their lives to help balance things. People may not consciously realize that their sport plays such a positive or important role in their lives, but it often does. Running often does not solve problems, but it can help in difficult times.
Keep running – its like life, you need to keep moving forward
Find the joy in running – that at the heart of it is why you do it
Be grateful for every time you can do it
Every run is a chance to get out of the house
Runs are stress relief, a chance to think and relax
Find the fun in your runs, explore and try something new
For many reasons running has become difficult in 2020. But it has also been difficult for the kids in runners’ lives. Sometimes children do not talk as much about their fears or anxieties, but they are often there. Young people can pick up on the stress of their parents, the mood and it can affect their mental health. Remember your kids have had their schedules disrupted, not seen their friends either and are also trying to figure out what is going on.
Be kind.
To get to the point where you have the right frame of mind, are calm and positive, to be able to be kind – you need to run. What? Why?
To be a good parent, to be there for your children you need to take care of yourself and be healthy, happy and positive. Running helps you. Putting in your shoes to get outside lets you think, breathe, get rid of the stress of the day, and make the best decisions for you and your family. The gel or air or new lacing system in the shoes will not help you figure out whether to keep your kids at home or send them into whatever schooling scenario your province or city has come up with – but it will help clear your mind. A clear mind makes better decisions. Runs will help you make it through every day.
Running will also show your kids how you deal in a healthy manner with stress and an uncertain world. You are their role model, their guide and an example for how they should act, talk and behave.
You runs will not solve your problems but they will make you a calmer parent and teacher and help you navigate life. The feathered hippos have left the course, the hamster wheel seems to have slowed, but, as move into September, the weird run of 2020 is not over, but we are all in this together. Keep running.
Some refer to it as the carbon shoe craze. Others call it ‘mechanical doping.’
The conversation in running has shifted. No longer is the focus just on performance. It’s centred on footwear. Everyone wants – needs – to know what others race in (or used to race in, or virtual race in, but you get the point). At the core of the discussion: carbon fibre-plated shoes, a relatively new addition to modern footwear.
As companies race towards the fastest shoe on the market, many runners question how far can a shoe go before it’s considered illegal?
Background
Carbon fibre-plated running shoes as we know them first arrived on the scene in 2016. At the time they were merely prototypes and later revealed as the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%. The shoe notably features a thick midsole, a carbon fibre plate, and ZoomX, a type of proprietary foam that has a high energy return. The foam is named Pebax. Funny enough, Pebax provides foam cushioning for Mizuno, Asics, Reebok, and others yet brands aren’t able to replicate Nike’s success.
Several generations of the 4% followed, including the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% Flyknit (essentially the same shoe), the Vaporfly NEXT%, and the Zoom Alphafly NEXT%. The NEXT% draws its name for having a more than 4% improvement in running economy, a science-backed claim, which makes the shoe so effective, and controversial.
Today, road racing records across the board have reset, both at the Canadian and global level. These records aren’t without controversy: a heated debate has emerged about whether shoes with such an advantage should even be permitted. In fact, recently, Norwegian marathoner Sondre Nordstad Moen broke the 1-hour record in the NEXT%, disqualifying his result from the record books because the shoes have too much cushioning for a track event.
While the summer road racing circuits are on pause because of coronavirus, now’s a good time to nerd out by diving deep into the carbon fibre obsession.
Why carbon fibre?
Carbon fibre is a simplistic way to group shoes together. But, it’s not just the carbon fibre plate that sets the 4% and NEXT% apart. Three factors contribute to performance: an embedded carbon fibre plate, midsole foam, and midsole thickness.
Recent studies suggest that, contrary to popular belief, the energy-returning foam is morebeneficial than the carbon fibre plate. The plate is believed to have some effect: it reduces energy loss by keeping the first metatarsal phalangeal joint and ankle stable. The carbon fibre plate also adds a level of rigidness to the shoe. Without the plate, the cushioning would be far too soft, significantly reducing the life of an already fragile shoe.
In a marathon, half-marathon, or for any distance for that matter, minimizing energy loss in each stride is critical.
What currently exists?
Many racing flats with carbon fibre plates exist, although brands lag behind Nike in releasing their own versions. Hoka One One has the Evo Carbon Rocket. New Balance has the FuelCell TC. Saucony has the Endorphin Pro and has a claimed 88% energy return. Brooks has the Hyperion Elite. Asics has its MetaRacer. On has the Cloudboom.
Additionally, Adidas worked on their own prototype, equipping their sponsored athletes with a densely-cushioned prototype at January’s Houston Marathon. That shoe turns out to be the adidas adizero Pro.
However, it’s Nike’s green and pink fluorescent NEXT% colourways that dominate start lines. And, when we return to in-person racing, it will likely be the Black Electric Green (or White/Jade Aura/Flash Crimson) of the Alphafly that stand out on start lines. This is in part because Nike was first to market. And the Vaporfly-line is well-known to make runners faster. A New York Times study analyzing more than a million marathons and half-marathons since 2014 found that runners who race in the Nike Vaporfly 4% and NEXT% run 4 to 5 percent faster versus a runner who doesn’t. Additionally, the runners in the 4% and NEXT% are thought to 2 to 3 percent faster than runners in the next-fastest shoe.
Clearly, not all shoes are created equal. Compare two runners of equal fitness. One in the NEXT%, and the other in the next-fastest shoe. They would not finish even remotely close to each other in a marathon, all else being equal.
Historically, the Vaporfly 4% sold out in minutes in retail. Then, shops consistently replenished NEXT% inventory to keep up with the sky-rocketing demand. Now, the Alphafly NEXT% is just as hard, if not more difficult to buy. Currently, the shoe is sold out at Nike.ca, and a few pairs exist via the sneakerhead online marketplace called StockX.
2017 New York City Marathon champion Shalane Flanagan in 2018 called the Vaporfly 4% “hands-down the greatest gift Nike has ever given me.”
To reiterate, these shoes are not that new. Brands had years to catch up. So, why haven’t they?
Kara Anastasiadis, associate VP of purchasing for FGL Sports (a Canadian retail brand that operates Sportchek), says: “Each brand has its own energy return technologies that they are committed to, invested in and have improved over time. Some of the hesitation comes from not wanting the perception or appearance as a “me too” brand. However, as Nike continues to develop this relatively new technology you will see other brands start to incorporate.”
Brands that do have carbon fibre plates on the market right now don’t use a comparable foam, or, if they do, don’t use the same amount (40+ mm) as Nike’s shoes.
Controversy
Prior to this year, World Athletics (formerly the IAAF) rules stated that shoes “must be reasonably available to all in the spirit of the universality of athletics and must not be constructed so as to give athletes any unfair assistance or advantage.” So whether Nike’s 4-5% improvement in running economy is considered an unfair advantage is debatable. Shoes being readily available is also questionable as many sponsored athletes race in prototypes which by definition is a preliminary model of a product with limited access.
Many runners, mostly non-Nike athletes, and select leading experts call for stricter regulations. Some recommend a limit to a shoe’s midsole thickness, or a variant. The fact that Eliud Kipchoge wore the Alphafly—at the time a science experiment of a shoe which had three plates and four fluid-filled chambers according to patents—during his 1:59:40 marathon adds fuel to the fire. (Speaking of science, the upper part of the Alphafly is called the AtomKnit.)
It appears the world governing body listened to these complaints.
In a highly-anticipated decision, World Athletics earlier this year amended its rules governing footwear adding that effective April 30, “any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market (online or in store) for a period of four months before it can be used in competition.” Further, they state that “if a shoe is not openly available to all then it will be deemed a prototype and use of it in competition will not be permitted.” The shoe must also not exceed a midsole of 40 mm, and contain no more than one carbon fibre plate.
In a fascinating twist of events, Nike around the same time unveiled the consumer version of Kipchoge’s marathon shoe, officially calling it the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%. The shoe skirts legality based on World Athletics’ verbiage including two airpods in the forefoot, the same ZoomX foam in the heel as the NEXT%, and one carbon fibre plate. The stack height is conveniently just shy of the limit.
On the other side of the argument, it can be argued that sport thrives on technological innovation. Brands push the envelope to have the best (and in running, best = fastest) product on the market. It’s a discussion that is certainly not over, and perhaps will become even more fascinating as Tokyo 2021 approaches.
One thing is for sure: the footwear race just got a whole lot more interesting.
We’ll talk to two remarkable runners and health care professionals. First, elite athlete Melanie Myrand, who is training to run an Olympic qualifying time while she is working as a nurse in Quebec. And Juliet Haynes, who is participating in the Run for Women and also works in mental health at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. Also, we’ll share the story of a woman who took up running at 57 and is completing her own long-distance challenge this month.
Melanie Myrand is a terrific runner and human being and her social media activity is impressive and entertaining.
She hits the nail on the head, reinforcing what we need to keep doing to keep this pandemic under control. She’s practising what she preaches, wearing masks, keeping physically distanced, working in full PPE, and maintaining her social circle.
Her workouts are phenomenal. Some are on her own, others are with teammates. Just recently she ran a workout of 70 minutes at 3:32/km! I think we can expect to see another personal best from her this fall.
From the smile on her face with a baby in her arms to the hugs with her in-laws, you can see that family is a huge part of her life. You can always see the love in her eyes.
If Mel had any more time in her day, she could likely write a food blog. Her videos and pictures are tantalizing. Her post workout meals meet the needs of an endurance athlete, plus she does everything with her trademark sense of dedication—and fun.
One theory behind Mel’s continued running success amidst a pandemic, where she is working full time as a nurse practitioner, is that her grind hasn’t been interrupted. She still gets that high of working all day while thinking of that evening’s workout that she nails before having a lovely dinner with her husband … followed by going to bed to wake up and do it all over again.
WORDS FROM COACH JOHN LOFRANCO
THE FALL PLAN
“The plan for this fall is to run at the Petit Train du Nord marathon on Oct 4. This marathon is a downhill course and not eligible for Olympic qualification. The goal is to “unofficially” run the Quebec record so that Mel can nail it in an official race in the spring (if available).”
THE TRAINING
“When the lockdown started, with Mel and all the others I coach, we talked about goals, what people felt up to doing and what they didn’t want to do. For some, they really wanted to do a time trial to “make up” for canceled races; for others, they were feeling kind of down and just wanted to lay low. In both cases, that’s the right call. Mel put training not on hold, but at a lower priority level when she was working on the front lines.”
MEL SPEAKS … BUT FIRST, A LITTLE INTRODUCTION FROM KRISTA
At the April 2019 Rotterdam Marathon, Melanie Myrand ran an impressive personal best of 2:33:20. Her time would meet the standard of 2:37:00 required by Athletics Canada to compete at the September 2019 IAAF World Championships. Over a dozen Canadian women would run under the standard by the end of that year. It was a big goal of Melanie’s to make her first major team. She waited patiently but it wasn’t until the day before the big race that Melanie would finally learn that she would run for Team Canada at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Melanie has a heart-warming way with her words. Her ability to articulate her love for running, family, friends, food, and her career is as admirable as her success in balancing these aspects of her life. She says it best …
Aug 30, 2019: The Exciting Announcement
“Excited to announce that I will be running the marathon at the IAAF World Championships. Been sitting, hoping, wishing for this! No scratch that. I’ve been running, working and training as if I’m going to DOH—not because I assumed I would be selected or think I’m deserving of it—but because that’s what we runners do. We train for the unknown, we train for a start line we may never get to, we take calculated risks, we train for goals that might not be realized, ultimately to find out what we are made of and to push ourselves in every way possible. So, no, I haven’t been sitting and hoping, I’ve been putting in the work and planning for this race, but yes I’ve been wishing. Wishing because this runners dream of making a world team came true. ”
Sept 21, 2019: Reflecting on her First Marathon
“Five years ago I ran my first marathon in an oversized singlet and a brand new pair of NB 1400s. I took one gel at 32km and started way too fast like the hammerhead I am. Needless to say I’ve learned a lot since then and that woman who ran 3:04 in Montreal would have never imagined running a 2:33 five years later. Stay open, stay patient and the sport can reward you with what you want to get from it.”
Sept 26, 2019: Honest Emotions, Mental Strategies and Thankfulness Before the Big Race
“The only walls that exist are those you have placed in your mind. And whatever obstacles you conceive, exist only because you have forgotten what you have already achieved.”
We are one day away from the 2019 IAAF Doha World Championships marathon and I am filled with excitement, uncertainty and even a bit of fear. I’ve never been that scared of 42.2 which has led me to start fast and take some level of risk during my previous marathons, but this is different. The element of heat which I cannot control shall be respected and will keep me patient. I am prepared because of everyone involved and I am truly thankful and grateful for this opportunity to run on the world stage. Let’s do this.”
Sept 28, 2019: Gutting it Out For Her Team
“The 2019 IAAF Doha World Championships marathon was wild, complete carnage, with 28 DNF’s out of 68 women who lined up. It was a test of endurance, a test for the ego, a test of patience and perseverance. There was no hiding, the heat and humidity made you completely vulnerable and exposed once it hit or creeped up on you. I had made my way up the field from 53rd to 26th before 28km when the heat started to overcome me. When it happened I did all I could to endure watching my pace slow to a pace I would normally consider my easy pace. The only thing I could think of in those last 14km was MY TEAM, who are the people I think of in the last 12km. I needed to finish for MY TEAM! There is no other race for me to justify a DNF, this was my race, all my eggs were in this basket. So I endured and preserved all I could, throwing water over my head at each opportunity and just focusing on moving forward. Coming around the out and back I could see Lyndsay Tessier and it filled me with joy seeing she was doing so well. One of my first questions to Trent at the finish line was how she finished. When I heard the top 10 finish I was elated!!! Two amazing 41 year olds, Roberta Groner and Lyndsay came 6th and 9th which continues to inspire the work I do.“
Jan 13, 2020: Life-long Passion for Running
“A lot has changed over 20 years. One sure thing is I’m still a sucker for the suffering, but now I know how to balance it with easier efforts, breaks and down weeks. Keep it sustainable, keep that fire alive.”
Jan 18, 2020: When Training is Gruelling
“A long run in -22? Cross training for two mind numbing hours on an elliptical? Those things never get easy, but you’ve been to darker places. Dark moments often teach us the most so get your big girl panties on, complain a little and get that work in this weekend: there are more bright moments ahead.”
March 18, 2020: Accepting the Uncertainties with Positivity
“How do you train without an imminent race in your future?
I guess there are a lot of things I don’t know right now, but what I do know is a start line is NEVER guaranteed. Runners, I think, are used to dealing with uncertainty so I hope this helps us during these times. I know for sure exercising (while practicing social distancing) increases endorphins which helps us manage anxiety and stress. Running (and/or at home workouts) can provide structure to the day which is so important for our mental health. So, for now what I do know is I’m still training as if I’m running 5-10k races this summer and a marathon this fall.”
Apr 15, 2020: Transferable Skills: From Athlete to Nurse Practitioner
“When adapting to new working conditions I think back to this day. Running a marathon in Doha in 42 degree heat at midnight was untouched territory for me and there was a huge possibility I wouldn’t succeed. Now I find myself facing the unknown again with other challenges including providing some of my working hours back at the bedside. I haven’t been a bedside nurse in over five years which is challenging enough, but this time we have a new virus changing the way we manage patients, this time we are working in a hotel—not a hospital—to keep COVID patients separated from the others. I guess that can be analogous to running a marathon with the added challenge of heat and a midnight start. I’m grateful for the tools running has given me to overcome these new challenges ahead, also this time I’ll try to keep my eyes open.”
Apr 21, 2020: Maintaining Sanity
“What’s keeping you sane right now? For me the answer is and most probably will always be running. It gets my crazies out in times of stress, brings a smile to my face and always ends up clearing my head.”
May 4, 2020: The Heartbreak and Rawness of a Health Care Professional Working in a Pandemic
“My heart dropped, not another call to work another shift. I barely had a weekend. How do you say no when they tell you they are seven nurses short? How will you enjoy your day off with the feeling of guilt inside your heart knowing someone probably won’t be well cared for and the team of nurses that go in will be run off their feet? This was actually just my sister calling who had left her caller ID off. The sense of relief I had when I heard her voice on the other end made me realize that COVID-19 is affecting me more than I realized, BUT I consider myself lucky. I’m lucky because I work mainly at the hotel right now where patients from private residence and CHSLD’s are transferred because they are COVID+ and their residence can’t accommodate them. I’m lucky because at the end of my busy shift I know the patients were well cared for. Our patients die comfortably, the ones that survive are well cared for (we have a whole floor of patients who are now negative). I’m lucky because although I’m working hard I can leave with peace of mind.
However, my heart goes out to those working in the private residence and CHSLD’s. I’ve worked at one where all the staff got infected and the CIUSSS had to provide nurses and PAB’s to care for the patients. Often you show up to your shift and there aren’t enough people to care for the patients so you do the best job you can, often there is nobody to replace you when you’re done your shift so do you leave or stay for another eight hours? The horror stories I hear from nurses I work with who have worked at CHSLD’s where dressings weren’t changed, dentures hadn’t been removed and cleaned for weeks breaks my heart. I can only imagine the death of these seniors knowing how quick they can become symptomatic and turn for the worse without the proper nursing care to make them comfortable. How is this happening in 2020? How is it that these seniors who often suffer from dementia, whose families can no longer give them the proper care are treated this way? Quebec has dropped the ball on our seniors.”
May 17, 2020: iRun Because…
“What is keeping you motivated to get out and run? For me the things NOT motivating me now are racing (because there are none), guilt (because when I miss a workout/run the guilt lasts about two minutes, lol). What IS motivating me is getting out in nature or my usual strip of road after a day of work and literally “running off my day,” so I’m actually feeling fresh when I get home. My motivation to do workouts is the stimulation of doing something that requires more effort which actually makes my easy runs more enjoyable. Maintaining some level of fitness is a huge motivator for me because it makes me feel good! I keep running so I can continue to enjoy running.”
May 25, 2020 Tears to Smiles in PPE on a 12 hour Shift
“Me: can you tell me where you are right now?”
“Patient X: I’m at Parc Safari.”
“Me (in my head): Yep, it’s pretty much a zoo right now. She’s definitely got something right.”
How is a patient not to be confused with a bunch of healthcare workers caring for her in PPE? She hasn’t seen someone she recognizes in weeks. Everything is kind of fuzzy behind PPE making it hard for the patients and the healthcare workers, but it’s our new normal and the way we protect our patients and ourselves.
This week patient X lost her husband to COVID-19, she is COVID + as well, but doing ok. When she was told the news she put both hands on her ears and grimaced. It’s hard to comfort someone in PPE, we can’t give long hugs like we want to, she can’t see the expression of despair on your face and you only hope the empathy in your voice gets across. She sits in her chair all day and often has moments of lucidity. Yesterday was Sunday and her family was together so we organized a Zoom meeting. Her face lit up and she smiled, calling out and saying something to each of her family members when she saw their faces. I hadn’t seen her smile like that in all the days I’ve worked with her. I started tearing up behind my PPE secretly, thankful it’s fuzzy so nobody will see.
Often we are most proud of the medical decisions we make or evaluations that go on to help our patients recover, but sometimes it’s the human things we do that make us happy and proud to be nurses.
June 19, 2020: Appreciating the Losses and the Gains
“I hope we can all finally see the light at the end of this tunnel we have all been living in for the last 100+ days. We have all had to deal with our own hardship and loss during this time but I hope and wish we can all come out of the pandemic with something positive or something learned. World champs brought me back to my first marathon. It resembled my first marathon in that it was hot, humid, with a nice blow up at the end. Despite the challenges we tend to learn most by these experiences versus the races that went perfectly.
COVID brought me back to my original nursing roots, back at the bedside for a big portion of my work. I witnessed death again, patients’ last breath, managed patients’ care with the team, keeping patients safe and providing the best care to help them overcome this virus. I’m proud of the team I worked with. In the CISSSMO Montérégie Ouest not one CHSLD in the public sector had a case of COVID. The private residences in my region were affected and quickly the staff from the cisssmo took over. The nurse practitioners in my milieu stepped up either doing rounds like the doctors in the private residences or working as nurse clinicians back at the bedside. The pandemic opened my eyes to the possibility of working more closely in the CHSLD’s as an NP in the future. This pandemic taught us how strong our team is and how quickly we were able to adapt to new teams, milieus of work, and a new virus. So just like running we often learn the most from our hardest races, we can come out stronger, we lost something but gained something as well.”
July 1, 2020: The New Way of Racing, Virtually
“Nothing like working through some pain and dark places to start the day! 35:55. A nice little kick in the butt motivating me for some more miles and quality work moving forward. Thanks for organizing a fun virtual event, Ottawa Marathon and Athletics Canada.”
August 16, 2020: Another Exciting Announcement
“Nothing makes a goal more special and purposeful than a group of people to go through the process with you. Thankful for my teammates Athletisme Ville-Marie who have chosen to join me in the process of attempting a sub 2:29:28 at the Petit Train du Nord October 4th.”
MELANIE, IN HER OWN WORDS
“What is a Fitbitch? A female who is aggressively pursuing her athletic goals. A woman who is confident and competitive. It’s the woman I strive to be everyday even if I don’t feel it everyday.
Embracing confidence and competitiveness is not selfish, it’s not mean or “bitchy” in the negative sense, men are applauded for these characteristics all the time. Confidence and competitiveness should be what we work towards and not what we shy away from. When a woman is confident and competitive she helps other women do the same, she helps them rise up and push their own limits becoming stronger together.”
PERSONAL BESTS
5 km 17:44 (2014)
5,000 m 16:39 (2016)
10 km 35:06 (2018)
10,000 m 33:42 (2020)
Half Marathon 1:15:50 (2018)
Marathon 2:33:20 (2019)
MARATHON PROGRESSION
2019 Rotterdam Marathon, 2:33:20
2018 Chicago Marathon, 2:34:08
2017 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, 2:39:10
Lyndsay Tessier, a teacher and Canadian long-distance runner who represented Canada at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, poses for a portrait near in High Park in Toronto, Friday August 21, 2020.
Photographs by Tyler Anderson
Lynsday Tessier doesn’t want you to call her “elite.” She doesn’t even really want you to refer to her as a “runner” first. “I’m a school teacher,” she says proudly. “I’m a runner, I suppose, but it’s a distant second for me.”
Considering she’s the national master’s record holder in the marathon, and her 2:30:47 PB ranks her 12th fastest Canadian woman of all-time, the 42-year-old’s running story is surprisingly short. Tessier only started running about nine years ago. “My first race was a local 5K, and I was wearing a pair of those Lululemon yoga pants — the ones that belled out at the cuff,” she says with a self-deprecating laugh. She thinks she finished in around 22 minutes, which surprised even her, as it felt freeing. Her friends encouraged the Toronto-based elementary school teacher to continue exploring her ability, and she quickly unlocked a long-hidden potential — little did she know it was Olympic-calibre talent. Since she started focusing more seriously on training in her late 30’s, Tessier has gone from running a surprising 2:54 to a shocking 2:45, to a 2:36—which everyone assumed was her limit—to 2:30, as a 41-year-old.
After smashing the 40+ national record at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, Tessier was selected to represent Canada at last year’s World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The race was situated in the desert, and started at midnight local time with the temperature floating around 40 C — it was as if the event was designed to see runners spectacularly fail. But Tessier and her coach Steve Boyd saw all these obstacles as her path to yet another breakthrough.
Tessier’s training up until that point had been magical. “I met her for a two hour, forty-five minute long run and we ended up running 42.2K — a perfect marathon — basically breaking my PB,” says Marco Li, a 38-year-old school teacher who is one of the few people Tessier regularly runs with. “She loves just putting her head down and does the work, and is quiet about it,” he says, pointing out that she’s methodical, patient and always focused on the bigger picture.
Three weeks before Doha, Tessier drove up to Kingston, Ont., where Boyd lives, for her last big workout — 25K at marathon pace. She ran a hilly gravel 5K loop on her own, with Boyd handing her water bottles. “I had to slow her down at one point because she was running 3:28/km,” says Boyd. “She was in 2:26-27 shape going in.
After that workout I thought, ‘Anything is Possible,’ here.
Leading up to the World Championships, Tessier watched Diamond League races, the top track events in the world. “I remember thinking, ‘How am I going to compete against some of these people in a month’s time?’” she says. “It’s like being a hockey player in a house league — you don’t think you’ll ever be in the NHL. I’m not trying to sound humble, it just wasn’t on my radar at all until it suddenly was.”
Tessier and Boyd devised a race plan that meant checking her ego and giving up about 15 seconds per kilometre from what she felt she could run in ideal conditions. In the first loop of the course, she was nearly dead last. By the end of the race, she’d passed nearly the entire field of world-class runners, finishing ninth overall. Her performance meant she qualified for consideration to be selected for the Tokyo Olympics. Of course, all that has been put in a holding pattern since the onset of the pandemic.
Instead, Tessier’s next challenge will be getting back to the classroom and doing what she does best — shaping the minds of her Grade 3 students.
A Change of Plans
During this year’s school March break, Tessier was supposed to travel to Flagstaff, Ariz. for a training camp. The World Health Organization declared the global COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on the day of her flight.
“The days leading up to going were excruciating because I was getting cold feet; my fear was that if I went I’d have to quarantine when I got back and wouldn’t be able to teach,” she says. She decided to stay put in Toronto and wait to see how the situation evolved. “We got the message that we weren’t going to come back from March break for two weeks, and that’s when the weight of the world came crashing down on us as teachers, as that just doesn’t happen,” Tessier says. “It was scary at that point.”
Ontario teachers had a week to learn an online platform, and Tessier turned her living room into an e-learning production studio. “I’m teaching kids to read, not technology,” she says. “They don’t even know how to type, right? They don’t have keyboard skills.” Tessier says that 95% of her teaching is dependent on social interaction with the children. “I can see by their body language and their reaction,” she says. “Now I have no idea how they are receiving the work, if they have any questions or confusion.”
As Tessier struggled to get a grasp on how to guide her students, Canada pulled out of the Olympics, then the organizers were forced to postpone the Games in Tokyo until 2021. That meant that her running, which has always functioned as an outlet and source joy and release, entered into a strange holding pattern as well.
“When my confidence in teaching took a hit, my running suffered as well,” she says she now realizes.
Much of my identity is built upon the success I have in the classroom. I wasn’t feeling confident or strong — actually weak — and I felt weak in running. My morale was low. Running became very, very secondary when my professional life blew up.
Tessier’s inner dialogue became negative. “Runs became really onerous and difficult,” she says, “and I don’t even mean workouts—even easy runs.”
Some of her students were struggling, handing in work at all hours. She became completely preoccupied by this, and her work-life balance blurred. “I’d find myself on the computer for hours each morning starting at 5 a.m., and my runs would drift into these odd times in the day, and I’d feel guilty every time I was out for a run,” she says. “I resented that I had to get out for a run when I felt that I should be back doing my job. There became no beginning, middle or end of the day. There was no division.”
Tessier says that by mid-April, she didn’t feel like a runner anymore while she attempted to train for an Olympic spot that may never come to fruition. “I felt like a teacher who was playing hooky.”
Tessier stil did every run, but says she didn’t enjoy it. “That’s a big part of running for me — actually enjoying it.”
She feared that a spark within her had died.
Rediscovering Running and Embracing the New Normal
She held at 130K weeks, quietly suffering through exhausting 90-minute runs. It’s a volume that Tessier previously found is very manageable when she isn’t trying to peak for a big race. By May, she started feeling good about her daily lessons, which she produced with an iPhone and props from the Dollar Store, like a DIY animation studio. The kids began to respond and became more comfortable with the flow of the program. It was then that she got her love of running back. “I gave myself permission to be a runner again,” she admits. “Creating boundaries is huge and not easy to do, especially with children.”
As far as the Olympics go, Tessier is currently qualified for Tokyo, but there are three Canadian women ahead of her — Malindi Elmore, Rachel Cliff, and Dayna Pidhoresky — holding down the available spots on the team. “I am going to let each runner’s story unfold the way it was going to,” she says of her zen approach and decision to forego trying to run yet another marathon before next summer’s Games.
“I like to chase, but I don’t like to force — I thought that trying to squeeze in a marathon after trying to train through a Canadian winter, in the midst of teaching, which is always a really busy period with report cards coming out in March, I felt like it would have been really forced. I thought I would let Doha speak for itself and let it be whatever it will be. I placed top 10 at the World Championships. So I just decided I’d stay fit and be ready, just in case any other runner isn’t able to go.”
School Ties
Tessier opted not to participate in any virtual races during the pandemic. She uses a Garmin to track her effort with each run, but is not a fan of Strava, so she’s mostly kept to herself, both for safety’s sake, and because it allows her to run on her own terms. She says she’s also going to wait until big city races are able to safely take place once again before she goes all-out in a run, and feels a responsibility to stay as safe as possible as she re-enters the classroom.
“I’m really excited to get back to school, and I don’t know a single teacher who would prefer to teach online,” she says of her desire to get back in the classroom this fall. “But it needs to be safe. There’s a little bit of apprehension going back, knowing that we are being treated as a bit of an experiment — as guinea pigs. But I’m really hopeful that we will establish a new normal. If there’s one thing March to June taught me is that the teachers, parents and children are very resilient. It seemed pretty hopeless in the beginning, but we ended up figuring it out and making it work. I’m hoping that the same will apply in September.”
She knows that anything can happen in the immediate future, and she’s trying her best to be her best, and be ready. And, as far as running goes, she’s realistically optimistic. “I know that one day soon I’ll look down at my watch in a marathon and I’ll see that number I want to see. It is going to happen,” she says. “Until then, I’ll stay in a holding pattern. That’s fine by me.”
We’re five months into this ugly COVID-19 pandemic and getting a little (or a lot) weary, anxious, tired, bored, discouraged, depressed, sad … you name it. There are no big races on the calendar, the Zooming is getting old but here to stay, and we’re done with the jokes and conversations about sourdough bread, toilet paper, haircuts, hand sanitizer, and working from home in our pyjamas. The conspiracies continue to both anger and entertain, and businesses are getting innovative and creative in order to survive while others have sadly lost the battle and closed shop for good.
The most recent cause for a stir of emotions is the difficult decision parents are facing with sending, or not sending, their children back to school. I’m not going to get political, but I will say I get fatigued with the criticism about how to best handle this situation, and the pandemic in general. I will say that I believe that Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, where I live, has done an excellent job. From the beginning he admitted that he lacked knowledge about the science behind COVID-19, but he trusted the experts to make the necessary decisions believed to be best for our province. He’s been fair to allow individual regions to progress through the phases as appropriate, and is now working for a solution to satisfy the needs of thousands of parents, teachers and children. Not an easy task.
There is a lot of misinformation and strong opinions that are making this much more complicated. From the non-maskers and the anti-vaxxers to the people who report the non-compliers and know the exact number of daily active cases, many seem to be experts with an us vs them mentality. Unfortunate.
We know that there is no perfect solution that will make everyone happy and comfortable. But we must support those who are working hard to try to make a solution. Whether at home full-time, at school full-time, or a hybrid (for those with this option), each family needs to decide what is best for them. Since our children go to a private Christian school that has smaller classes this year, we aren’t faced with the concern of larger class sizes. However, our oldest will attend a public high school and we would send our children to public elementary school. In general, we feel that there are risks in life and we need to return to some level of normalcy.
But that’s us, our decision. We’ve had many dinnertime conversations with our kids throughout this time, going back to when life was so abruptly halted in mid-March. My advice to parents is to talk openly with your children. Be objective and stick to the facts. Keep the content and decision-making appropriate for their level of understanding and start preparing them for their new normal. Show them the exact length of two metres, only allow screen usage when they are wearing a mask, and explain the importance of hand hygiene and cohorting. Have an open mind about change, focus on the positive, and avoid any negative messaging you may be knowingly or unknowingly relaying to them.
In one quick Google search, I found the Centre for Disease and Control and Prevention, which is way more beneficial to read than the comments from Facebook experts. Another expert I appreciate is Dr. Isaac Bogoch (I watch him on Cable Pulse 24 and follow him on Twitter), who gives a practical and scientific answer to a variety of questions. Lastly, just like with racing, be prepared for a back-up plan. Know what you will do if we have to return to a previous phase in our reopening plan.
Just like with racing, take a deep breath. We will get through this and it will be a story our kids tell their kids someday.
I’ve certainly found myself experiencing that long list of emotions I mentioned earlier. In March, I took the race closures as an earlier than scheduled resting opportunity; a time to slow down from the busyness of parenting, coaching, training and working. Surely life would return to something somewhat familiar in the fall. Races would look different, but they’d be back, school would be on, but with moderate change and extra-curricular activities would resume with caution. Nope. Nope. And nope.
I decided I wasn’t going to let this ruin my summer and have aimed to keep conversations positive, but to be honest, I too have struggled with mourning the loss of another season. Possibly another year. One of the last events that will return is our mass participation races and that stinks. Marathon racing is my profession and I fear this pandemic may have forced my retirement, at least from how I’ve known racing.
When spring marathons were cancelled, Reid Coolsaet, my coach, the Canadian Olympian, adjusted my plan to focus on shorter time trial (TT) races. After two unsuccessful 10K TTs in May and June—but one decent 5K TT of 17:07 in June—I felt myself letting go a bit. I would keep training with lower mileage, but was going to keep enjoying ice cream nearly every day while not paying much attention to things like pace or whether or not I would wear my Saucony Endorphin shoes for workouts. I’ve enjoyed running with my friends Sandra, Sten and Tara while at our cabin and staying healthy with a moderate amount of quality work within a range of 100-120Ks over six days/week (one rest day). I’m now shifting gears again, planning to attempt another 10K TT next month with the hope I’ll avoid another fail. I haven’t put any effort into analyzing workouts, but am slowly going to allow myself to focus.
Just looking at my Strava today, I can already see some progress: one month ago I did 10x600m at 3:29/km. Yesterday I did 14x600m at 3:25/km. In July I did the workout on a rolling road and in August it was on the track, but I’m happy. Happy, enough. At my time trial, I’ll be far from my personal best of 32:52 (2013), but it gives me something to work toward. At this point in my career—and at my age—I don’t need to be logging the high weekly mileage, but I do need to stay sharp, and use it or lose it.
I wish everyone well as we aim to wrap our heads around a very different looking school year and racing season. Stay positive, support others, put your running shoes on, and move forward. We’re getting there. Shout out to my support team: Saucony, Eload Sport Nutrition, Endurance Tap, Stoked Oats, Smith Optics, Essential Physia and David Zulak RMT.
With in-person running events being cancelled or going virtual, it can be hard to set running goals and stay motivated. Team Canada runners, Rachel Cliff and Reid Coolsaet, share their tips for doing both and, why supporting Canadians living with MS by participating in events like MS Run Presented by Running Room matter.
Rachel Cliff
Rachel Cliff has been representing Canada on the international stage since 2013. This year, she had hoped to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but with a cancelled competitive season, her schedule has shifted. “I took some time off in April to reset and have been building up mileage and base training over the summer.”
What tips do you have for runners to stay motivated during a virtual event?
Think of all the other people racing the virtual challenge across Canada. You might not be with them physically but it’s still very motivating to imagine people across the country doing the same thing as you.
Why are you joining MS Run and supporting Canadians living with MS?
My uncle has multiple sclerosis. Our families grew up very close, we lived literally one block from each other and his daughters, my cousins, are similar in age and are good friends. I’ve seen the significant impact MS has on daily life and understand how critical fundraising and further research is in the fight against the disease.
What advice do you have to help runners set and reach their running goals?
Consistency is key – be patient and smart when increasing your volume. Try to develop a consistent schedule that shows gradual increasing in volume and/or intensity and schedules in rest weeks as well.
What advice do you have for experienced runners to help them stay motivated and work toward their goals without a traditional finish line?
It’s sad we can’t race together in person but one positive thing that’s come out of the pandemic is how strong the virtual running community has become. Find virtual events that excite and interest you, get active on Strava to find new routes and check in with your local running store to see how their run clubs are adapting to the new virtual COVID-world.
2016 Olympic Games
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil August 12-21, 2016
Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun
Victah1111@aol.com
631-291-3409
www.photorun.NET
Reid Coolsaet
Two-time Olympic marathoner and 14-time Canadian champion, Reid Coolsaet, is a frequent face at fan-favourite running events around the world. Through COVID-19 Reid has adjusted his training, “I’ve backed off my training to be able to recover more. I’m maintaining a base level of fitness so I can be ready to increase my training once a race opportunity presents itself.”
What tips do you have for runners to stay motivated during a virtual event?
Pick a reasonable goal knowing that you won’t have competition and the same race atmosphere to push you. See it as a benchmark/bridge for your big goals that will come later.
Why are you joining MS Run and supporting Canadians living with MS?
One of Canada’s top distance runners has multiple sclerosis and still sets master’s road records. I’ve known him for about 20 years, and he’s had MS for over 10 years.
What advice do you have to help runners set and reach their running goals?
Pick a goal that excites you and gives you motivation. Then figure out what you need to do in training to achieve that goal. Having training partner(s) and/or coach can go a long way in terms of accountability and direction.
What advice do you have for experienced runners to help them stay motivated and work toward their goals without a traditional finish line?
Focus on improving some aspects of your running that you might normally neglect. Pick a new distance or a new challenge. Maybe it’s running a local hill x number of times or running longer than you ever have before or racing a shorter race, like a 1500m.
On Saturday, September 12, unite with runners from across Canada toward the ultimate finish line – a world free of MS.
I am an aging adult. However, I am aging in ways that many in my same age cohort are wondering how I am doing it: I run, I cycle, I swim, I hike and I live a full and bountiful life. I am a one-on-one grief counsellor and I volunteer with hospice. I am a death doula and soul care provider.
Most recently, I challenged myself to run 200 kilometres in one month as a fundraising challenge for Margaret Bahen Residential Hospice and Doane House Community Hospice. The annual challenge, like all the other fundraising projects, have been forced online and are trusting people will be passionate enough about their cause to become involved. Yesterday I completed a personal duathlon event. With the help of my coach/mentor/teacher—who is my daughter—I completed a 61-kilometre duathlon in recognition of my 61st birthday this month. I was running for hospice anyway and decided to launch a bigger challenged in the middle of it. It was a challenge and as I sit here writing my body is feeling stretched and pushed and yet feels so good.
I specialize in grief counselling and supporting anyone who death has touched their world and who are struggling to rejoin their own life again. Hospice is a beautiful environment where dignity in dying is paramount and families can walk the journey of death together with support and love. My role as a soul care provider is paramount in walking with people in the darkness while they carve out learnings in their spiritual journey.
While working with end-of-life care, I choose to live life fully and look up and out at all the ways we can age well, because it is in living life fully, we can better understand death and its role in our lives. I say this because no one is exempt from dying and when death is friended life becomes that much sweeter. Which brings us back to me: I have played with fitness since the days of Jane Fonda, spandex with a thong, and leg warmers. I was at an aerobics class in April of 1986, nine months pregnant with my first child. Certifying as a group fitness instructor though IDEA and the YMCA, in the 90’s I further trained with CanFitPro as a Fitness Instructor Specialist (FIS), Personal Trainer (PT) and as a Healthy Eating and Weight Loss Coach (HWL). I am fully trained to lead the class, teach the masses and set the standard. However, I harboured a secret that took over at the turn of the millennia and shame, blame and insecurity won, taking me deeply into the darkness. I hid a serious alcohol addiction for years. Finally, the alcohol won. For years I managed my addiction, quietly sailing through a late and mature life choice to go to university for the first time in 2007 at 47 years old. I enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts program and jumped in with both feet. I loved learning. This degree was needed as I was seeking to complete a master’s program and had never, ever gone to university.
I was looking like the pillar of success all while secretly drinking myself stupid. Ironically, I was such a good functioning alcoholic that no one knew (at least if they did they never let on, even in my sobriety). I would schedule evening classes so I would not drink during the day. Sometimes it worked and sometimes I just took wine in my portable cup to the class.
For 15 years, I pretended. I believed I was okay and faked my way through graduation of a BA honours degree and a master’s program in five years. I was passionate about the topic and hungry to find my own soul in the dying of my own days. Living alone I was able to cover it well. Where it began to culminate was in my struggle to move from school to a job. I was drowning my passions, no fitness routine, lying to family and hiding my soul all while still in hiding. In 2013-14 I was hired in a position that required me to counsel and care for the vulnerable. During this year, I realized the depths of my own demons, and one evening as I was deciding whether the old garage would hold enough exhaust fumes to do the job, my soul said: “Enough, go home and get well!”
I listened.
Since 2014 I have been on a soul’s journey of healing and wellness. Partnering with my body and mind I am now coming up on three years alcohol free. In 2017, right after my first grandchild was born, my daughter (a triathlete) was preparing for her summer of racing to get back to pre-pregnancy level. She signed me up for my first five kilometre race in April of that year. I never looked back. Running and cycling was for me.
Now I am running 15 kilometres any given day, cycling 30 kms as a leisure ride and, in partnership with my daughter (who completed a 70.3 in the summer of 2019), are planning a hike-through of the Bruce Trail in 2022.
I am aging well, and running is part of that journey. The strength of character, the layers of energy, and my determination has set a path for optimal aging and a bright future.
There were many hurdles and challenging days during the past 5+ years of recovery and it is not over, however the great life I am living fuels my knowing I never want to go back to the lies. Life is never handed to us easily. Life is an experience and our choices make it what it is. If you want to feel younger as you get older it takes commitment and work. If you want to age well it takes paying attention and choosing right. If you want to be your best self it takes awareness, tools and good friends. If you want to RUN, you must learn to crawl on your hands and knees before your soul and ask your divine source to come along. When one lives knowing we will all die, the life you live is that much sweeter.
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” The body that carries the soul deserves to be the best it can be, so the experience of the soul is epic.
Cynthia Breadner is a runner and a cyclist who also works as a grief counsellor. She is the founder of GriefCafeBradford. CynthiaBreadner@gmail.com breakingstibah.com #breakingstibah
So you’ve got your shirt, shorts, water bottle, and the right running shoes. Now it’s time to run. Should be easy, right? But maybe it’s starting to rain, and you think to yourself, “not today, maybe tomorrow.” Or a friend calls you and you figure it’d be rude to blow them off. The trouble is, you’ve been finding a different reason to not run each day for the past week. And before you know it, the idea of going out for a run is becoming overwhelming instead of motivating.
“The biggest battle isn’t running, it’s leaving your home because once you’re out the door, you’re going,” says Anoke Dunston, Educator at Lululemon in Toronto. The good news is that you’re not alone in this “battle.” We’re here to help. Continuing along in iRun’s series dedicated to helping new runners feel more supported, we’re looking at ways you can get over common mental hurdles and out of the door running. Here are some tips from pro runners, who were once also in your (running) shoes.
Lay your clothes out
One of the best things you can do is to lay out your running clothes the night before a run. This cuts down on time and excuses the next morning when you’re getting ready for your run and want to keep your motivation up. The less time you spend scrambling around trying to find everything you need, the less stressed you are. Getting ready the night before will also give you more time to get the critical sleep you need, aim for eight hours for optimal performance. When you do some quick prep the night before, your future self will thank you.
Find a friend to run with
Sometimes finding the motivation to run is hard on your own, and many runners find that it really helps to have someone to run with, especially when starting out. You’ll be there to encourage each other when you’re not so thrilled to run—a very common feeling at the beginning of your running journey! “Personally, I think it’s easier to buddy up with someone. The accountability you have with someone else running makes it a lot more fun. It’s more of a social experience than exercise, and before you know it—you’ve run 5K, 10K, 20K, and even 30K sometimes,” says Dunston.
If you have a friend who’s been wanting to start running as well, the two of you can partner up for accountability. Or, you can find a running partner through apps like Jogging Buddy. If you aren’t able to find a friend or partner who’s interested in running consistently, you can also look for a running crew in your city. A good place to start looking is apps like Strava, where running crews often post their activities. Usually, running crews run one to two set times a week, which can help you build a steady running schedule, plus you’ll meet people there to keep you accountable.
Gamify running
Something you’ll hear a lot of once you start running is the idea that building endurance can be more of a mental exercise than a physical one. One way to help overcome some of the mental blocks that might arise as you try to increase your distance or speed, is by turning your run into a series of fun or easy goals. “I sometimes count intersections to break up my run to trick myself into thinking that my run won’t be that long. If I have to run 10K, I focus on running intersection to intersection because it’s the small battles won on a run that make it easier to reach a loftier goal,” says Dunston.
Another way of making your run more fun is by literally turning it into a game. Running apps like Zombies Run! and The Tetradome Run are a perfect way to kickstart and gamify your running experience. Each of these apps motivates you with audio-based challenges that cast you as the protagonist of a story and which increase in difficulty with each run.
Explore New Places
Part of what makes running so exciting is that it gives you an excuse to discover new parts of the town or city where you live. For those who don’t want to have the Groundhog Day experience of running the same route over and over again, try switching it up and planning a new route each time you run to make it more of an exploration. “Something I do is a ‘Run To Paradise,’ where I live in East Scarborough [in Toronto]. I set a destination I run to, whether it’s the Bluffs, Woodbine Beach, or even a grocery store. Setting these destinations for myself helped me so much because it made running fun,” says Dunston.
There’s nothing that says you need to be running for ten straight kilometres right out of the gate. In fact, running for long distances without breaks is unhealthy for a beginner runner. Breaking up your run by designating time or distance milestones to take walking breaks (for example every five minutes or every two kilometres) helps your body acclimate to using new muscles and gives you some much needed mental and physical resting periods.
“The run-walk method can help improve speed and recovery while decreasing the chances of injury,” says Armen Ghazaraians, CEO of California-based Finish Fit. “When done correctly, the run-walk method can help improve running fitness, aerobic capacity, and overall recovery.”
One last piece of advice: Although running is a great way to keep physically fit, don’t forget all the mental health benefits that you’ll get from your runs! “I listened on a podcast once that we, as humans, tend to take care of what’s below our neck rather than what’s above it. Running helps me clear my mind, think things out, and bring me back to balance,” says Dunston.
Still looking for inspiration to finally pick up those running shoes? We reached out to athletes on Strava to get their advice for new runners, here’s what they had to say…
“Find out what inspires you about running, what helps: music, podcast, route, city, rural, trail, treadmill, people, friends, club, social, alone, solitude, beating a time, target race, training plan and create a consistent experience that you enjoy. You have to do it for yourself; otherwise, you’ll likely give it up. People get hung up on external factors, comparing and ego, but I always say that “2 shoes + out the door = running”, and it is no more complicated than that.”– P. Smith
“I would say keeping the mileage low and involving friends. It is fun to share your runs on social or even start a running crew to keep it fun and add accountability.”– L. Armstrong
“Personally, I see running as a community. Consistency in my experience has a lot to do with having fun, a goal, and a community that shares working towards that goal. I agree that there is an element of competitiveness amongst runners that can intimidate new runners that could push them away. Patience and persistence, I believe, are needed if a goal is what is driving you to run.”– C. Costa
“Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Take it easy. The first few weeks will be tough, but then you will start to notice the improvements. Different people are motivated differently. Some just run for fun, others to race, and others just to race against themselves. Find what motivates you!”– G. Stanley
“Run/Walk starting out and then again when increasing mileage. Running friends/group.” – R. Mann
“A training log is a great visual to help with accountability. I found Strava to be a good tool coming back postnatal. It’s fun to share your journey with others.” – G. McCabe
“Don’t overcommit: set reasonable goals, start easy, build up foundation over time.”– A. Yatsynych
“Do yoga… running is so stressful on joints so make sure your style is right to limit negative impact, so do running ABCs. Run on grass, off road to avoid stress from pavement pounding.” – D. Anderson
“Sign up for upcoming runs (or virtual runs) to give yourself goals that keep you motivated! :)” – E. Ciente
“For me it was reaching out to experienced running friends for their guidance and support. Setting expectations low and building on them slowly. Celebrating small milestones and any little bit of progress. I started running for half an hour a couple times a week. I’m really slow but I feel great during and afterwards and I can tell I’m gradually getting stronger. Committing to other leg strengthening exercises (squats, lunges, yoga) has helped reduce pain and risk of joint injury.” – Z. Foster
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