While I Can

For the first 16 years of my life, I lived in North Vancouver. We did everything outside, and if it rained, we still went out. That was just how we grew up.

Our house backed onto Mahon Park, which was really a forest with a creek running through it. My sisters, our neighbours and I spent a lot of time there, climbing trees and playing outside. 

We lived close to Grouse Mountain, with hiking trails nearby, and our family went camping often. We would walk up to my grandma’s house, about a mile away, and I remember riding there on our tricycles when I was very young.

We were also members of the North Shore Winter Club. It had an outdoor pool, and we spent a lot of time there in the summer. My parents got us involved in competitive swimming and springboard diving.

But when I was 16, my dad received a promotion with Transport Canada aviation and we moved to Winnipeg.

Running Solo

The funny thing is that I never liked running when I was younger. In high school, the track coach needed somebody for the relay team, so she put me in. Then she needed somebody to do hurdles, so I became the hurdler. We also did cross-country running at school, and I never liked it that much either.

It was not until after university that I took up running, mostly so I could stay in half-decent shape and do the things I really liked to do, such as downhill skiing. 

After my first half marathon, I felt like I had so much left in me when I finished that I thought I had better do a full marathon. I had not felt good about running until maybe six months before that. I was in my 30s then, which was a long time ago now.

Running has been mostly a solo experience for me. When I worked at Canada Life, I had some friends who were runners, so I started running with them as well. But quite often when I’m running, I zone out. I like that. Time flies, and you just feel good.

Making Time

I worked as a software developer at Canada Life for my whole career. When I was working, I had to fit training around the workday.

I like swimming as well, so twice a week I would set my alarm for 5:16 in the morning, be out the door just after 5:30, get to Pan Am Pool before six, swim from six until seven, then come home, get changed and go to work.

On other days, depending on the time of year and where I was working, I would either run in the morning or run at lunchtime. We had flexible hours at work, so I could take an hour and a half for lunch, get a run in, have a shower and return to work.

I sacrificed sleep, which was ridiculous, but I did not really realise how much sleep I was losing until I retired. Once I retired, I realised I was getting at least an extra hour of sleep.

Working life could be stressful, and I think running helped me deal with that. Being in shape helps me sleep better, and that makes my whole life better.

Spooky Forest

We do not really have a lot of trails close to our house in Winnipeg, so it was always easier for me to step out the door and run on the sidewalk. I had done mostly road running until my first trail race, which was at XTERRA Maui in 2010.

At the time, the XTERRA World Championship was held there, and they had a trail race the day before so I signed up for the 10K.

There was a section of the course called “the Spooky Forest.” You were running over logs, and it was a pretty rough part of the course. I thought I was being careful, but suddenly I was flying through the air and landed on my shoulder. I fractured my upper arm. It hurt like heck, but I still managed to finish.

Paying Attention

Trail running and road running are totally different. I think I enjoy trail running more because there is more to think about technically. You have to pay attention to where you are going, try not to get lost, try not to trip and fall, and still keep your pace up wherever you can.

On the road, I can just kind of have a little dream as I go along. On a trail, you have to focus much more on what you are doing.

Some courses have been very difficult. At Sugarloaf, there were steep climbs, steep descents, rocks, mud and a creek crossing. There were people who could run across the boulders, but after my injuries, I did not want to take that chance. I got down on my hands and knees and crept across.

Why do I keep doing it? You get a good sense of accomplishment when you manage to finish. It is fun putting your body and mind through the test. It’s a challenge.

Together with Ray

My husband Ray likes to tell people that we were not wearing clothes when we met. Technically, that is true, but we were wearing bathing suits. We met while standing in line at the one-metre diving boards at Pan Am Pool.

Later, we realised that when we were younger, we had lived only a few doors apart in North Vancouver. We may have seen each other then without knowing it. But we met in Winnipeg at the pool, and somehow, after I went travelling and came back, we ended up together.

It has been fun being able to share running and travel with Ray. When his body allowed it, we could run together. He’s had a hip replacement, and he has problems with his knee and his other hip. But he still walks and hikes, and he continues to come along for these experiences.

Travel Experiences

We have travelled together for races in places we might not otherwise have visited. XTERRA was the reason we first went to Taiwan. We returned more than once, and those trips became part of our lives together.

Earlier this year, we went to Marrakech. I ran the marathon, and Ray completed the half marathon as a combination of running and walking. It happened to be the 36th running of the Marrakech Marathon, and it was also my 36th marathon.

I’ve been running three marathons a year for several years now. Last year, I ran Boston in April, Manitoba in June and Victoria in October. This year, I chose Marrakech instead of returning to Boston, and Ray came with me. Ray’s whole life mantra has been, “Do what you can while you can, because you never know.”

Careful Now

I used to run outside all winter in Winnipeg. Then, on January 15, 2020, I slipped on ice and broke my upper arm close to my shoulder. It was a terrible injury, and I was off work for a year and a half.

After that, once there is snow and ice, I take my running to the treadmill. I don’t get the same feeling on the treadmill. I don’t zone out in the same way. But I would rather do that than fall again.

At 69, I’m slower and less agile than I used to be. I notice how few people my age and older are still doing these sorts of activities. It’s still fun, and nothing really hurts, so why not keep going?