Blog of Sal

T wo years ago today I ran my first (and only) ultra trail race at the Sulphur Springs 50km in Ancaster, Ontario. The first half of the race felt amazing. I'd done the training and I mean, I was flying. I even felt good until after the massive hill around the 29km mark... Then, at the 30km turn-around I realized I was in trouble. As I headed back down the hill a woman I'd been keying off for much of the race pulled away, gradually out of sight. (She'd eventually beat me by over 25 mins.) I wanted badly to go with her. Alas, the wheels came off. It's an interesting feeling to be engaged in an activity where your mind and body are at odds. My body was screaming at me to chill. My mind wanted a sprint. The compromise was that I didn't stop running and was able to stay in the top 30% of the field. If my body had its way, I'd have quit. If my mind had its way, I'd have been up at the front, challenging the eventual winner, my friend and then coach Andrew Yorke.  ...

With the coming of a new year I've been thinking on my 2020 running goals. I want to be consistent and also do a bit more running with my 6 year old, Sam. He drew this for me recently:  It's me in the woods with running clothes on And so I've adopted a running mantra: run easy and stay the course . It prompts me to keep moving while reenforcing how true progress takes time. The endurance app company  Strava  sent out a marketing email recently which said January 19th is "Quitter’s Day", the date when the most aspiring athletes break their New Year's resolutions. C'mon guys! Can't we do better than that?! When you haven't been working out you get an intense surge of positive energy when you first start. Then you see dramatic improvement very quickly. This probably leads to people misinterpreting their real fitness level and taking their training too seriously too fast. "Hey if I can improve by 20% in just two weeks, imagi...

I just moved to Hamilton after three years spent (mostly) in Calgary, or " the heart of the new west!". It was a very boring and alienating  time for me, but a lot of good came out of it as well. I spent the first year reflecting on my father 's recent passing. I ran that entire year, and I ran with a lot of passion, and I ran damn fast actually, and I'm proud of that. Now when I write something good , even one of Canada's greatest athletes Sam Effah sometimes gives me feedback, and I am reminded of how I am part of a special tribe of people, as my father was, who care extremely deeply about inspiring others. And I can think back on Terry Fox , and Emilie Mondor, and Steve Prefontaine, and remember why this sense of urgency I feel matters so much. The race doesn't stop because I'll never run another 52.2 400m (like I did for Gloucester, so our relay team could make provincials in '99, my father's best high school time, a paltry 52.5*). I ...