Member Rep

Serving role since January 2025

Past Board Role(s): 

N/A

How long have you been with PRC? 

I joined PRC November, 2024. I had met so many PRC members through local races. Everyone was always so warm and welcoming, and I appreciated the PRC community spirit and the enthusiasm for racing and training. Eventually joining seemed like a natural step!

What made you start running? 

I actually started running a few times. But I was a bit too keen to run farther and faster as soon as possible. As a result I was a little prone to injury, so I mostly stuck to cycling. When my husband and I moved to NL in 2020 – a return home for me – I found that the roads were not conducive to daily cycling, so I thought I would try running again. My brother recommended the Runkeeper app. It was Covid times, so on lots of days that app was the only voice I heard outside my family! I slowly built up to doing 3 runs a week, about 5km per run. It took some time before I trained for longer distances or more frequent running, and then I ran with another group for a couple of years, but I have been consistent since 2021!

What is your best/worst run?

Maybe my worst run was a training run a couple of years ago. I had a race coming soon, and was supposed to do a key workout, race pace intervals in a long run, so some friends offered to pace me. We ended up running uphill on the T’railway at a pace that seemed easy for them but was way too fast for me. And I was eating dried fruit for fuel – before I figured out that the sugar in gels would not kill me – so I was under-fueled and had really bad stomach cramps. After a while, I bailed on the group run and

just stood under a tree, completely discouraged! But I got over it, and it was a good lesson in learning to pace myself, and in not letting one bad training run get me down. 

One of my best runs was the 2022 USR half marathon. I had been training for the Tely and was loving the longer runs, so I decided to register and train for the half marathon. The Tely was moved because of the weather that year, so I went into the half marathon with no expectations, having only ever done one short race. I loved every minute of that run! The weather was perfect, and I was able to run a pretty good pace for me. The other runners and the little groups of spectators were so encouraging. I was hooked on the combination of individual sport and community event, and I still love racing for that!

Favorite running shoe?

Hoka Mach 6 is my current favourite for daily training – it’s light and fast and comfortable without being squishy. A close second, maybe better for longer runs but also great for faster running, is the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4. It’s light and fast, and it’s so bouncy that I feel like I am running on springs! Love them both!

How do you track your runs?

Garmin Forerunner 265s. It does everything I need, and I can see the numbers on it while I am running.

Do you have a current running goal?

I’m currently training for a half marathon (Vancouver) and then my second marathon (Toronto), and I want to improve my time for each distance. But my overall goal is to be the best runner I can be. To me, that means do my best in training and then accept the conditions I face on race day.

Best training tip you can provide/received?

First: run the kilometer you’re in. On a long run, or when doing hard intervals, I can get a bit overwhelmed thinking about all the kms/intervals I have left to do, until it all just feels impossible. Focusing on what I am doing at the moment helps me get out of that mental mess and run as well as I can, one km (or interval) at a time.

Second: strength training. It makes me a better runner, and it helps prevent injury. And if we want healthy bones, we have to add strength training to running. It doesn’t have to take long, but I have learned that for me, it’s a non-negotiable for keeping running and staying healthy as I get older.