Today on the show I welcome back Olympian Jess O'Connell. Our last chat was what feels like a lifetime ago, so we talked about her post-COVID run at a spot in Tokyo and how healing from a longstanding injury made her discover how much running is a part of her soul. Jess coaches both independently, as the co-owner of Grit Coaching, and also as an Assistant Coach at the University of Calgary, working with the Dino's Distance Track and Cross Country program. Jess has a lifetime's worth of experience as an athlete, which she is excited to use to fuel her passion for coaching. As for setting some big goals for herself again on the track or road? Never say never.

For our next installment of recordings from the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Speaker stage, welcome to Sustainability in Sport. This topic is huge: with more and more runners finding their first start line, ensuring that race events can be around for years to come is more vital than ever. Canada Running Series's guru of green, Jen Cerullo, introduces Tina Muir, author of Becoming a Sustainable Runner: A Guide to Running for Life, Community and Planet. Tina speaks with Mike Hurley (Trees for Life), Jeff Packer (Carbon Neutral Club) and Ainsley Munro (Trans Canada Trail). This session is full of real talk and a focus on how the accumulation of the actions we take when we have the opportunities to make choices are what make the biggest impact. So snuggle up with your signed copy of Tina's book and join me back at the speaker stage to find out what we can do to keep our earth ready for all generations.

Follow our guests on Instagram:

Tina Muir @tinamuir88

Carbon Neutral Club @carbonneutralclub

Trans Canada Trail @transcanadatrail

Trees For Life @cdntreesforlife

EPISODE SPONSOR: The Vancouver Half Marathon may be sold out, but spaces still remain in the 5k, taking place on June 23, 2024. All the fun packed into a shorter distance.

The Under Armour East Side 10 on September 22, 2024, is also filling fast: this iconic race runs through the historic east side of Vancouver. Double up and run the Vancouver Special Challenge: complete a virtual and an in-person 10K for bonus swag.

Go to www.canadarunningseries.com to register

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Theme music: Joseph McDade

For our 200th episode together, we are going to love all over our run community. I was joined for my birthday party by Mofope Oyekunle from TeamUltra Black and Kayla Hunt and Emma Ferguson from OCRC (Ottawa City Run Club). What an amazing group of community leaders: these three humans care deeply about our sport and encourage all the people to join them. We talked about what it takes to make a truly welcoming environment, where runners can show up, know what to expect, and find their place for the long haul. And that is precisely how we build community in this sport. That and spilling our guts to each other over long runs.

Eric Chéné has loved sports, both playing them and watching them, basically forever. He has spent his adult years working his way through various sports logistics jobs, which grew his skill set to land him in the job he's had for the last decade: Race Director of the Vancouver International Marathon Society, host of the BMO Vancouver Marathon. Eric is at the epicentre of Canada's largest running boom in decades. This was evidenced on May 7th: the BMO Vancouver Marathon hosted over 20,000 runners, a great many of which were running their first ever half and full marathons. Eric and I dig into the awesome things about welcoming all of these new, enthusiastic runners, but also what challenges they bring to a race of this size. I hope our digging into some of the details that make a race like this happen highlights for you how much care and attention go into all of the details that work together to keep every runner safe and happy on race day. It's an awesome time to be a member of the run community!

Follow the BMO Vancouver Marathon on Instagram @bmovanmarathon

THEME MUSIC: Joseph McDade

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EPISODE SPONSOR: Vancouver Half Marathon

The swag has dropped, and excitement is high for this year's Vancouver Half Marathon, taking place in person on June 23, 2024, or virtually from June 1-30, 2024. THIS RACE IS 90% SOLD OUT! Secure your spot and run a gorgeous 21 km or 5 km. Your prize? A beautiful medal, souvenir ASICS participant shirt, access to the Runkeeper Go premium experience and more! Register today at www.canadarunningseries.com

Many things make our local run communities amazing, but one of those things that has the power to take it up a notch is a fantastic local run shop. Caroline Fisher, co-owner of Big Sky Running Company in Winnipeg, was hooked on running as a teenager when she first logged miles with her mother and her run group at Running Room. It inspired her to reach for big goals early on, running her first marathon as a teenager and then joining the Bisons track team at the University of Manitoba. She continued to develop as a runner, became a mom twice over, and has now shown her skills as an ultra trail runner. She even placed third at the Manitoba Marathon last year, with her home crowd cheering her on. As Big Sky recently celebrated its first birthday, Caroline talked about her huge love for the run community and some of the trials and triumphs of being a small business owner.

Follow Big Sky Running Company on Instagram @bigskyrunco

Photo credit: @therunningkat

EPISODE SPONSOR: Vancouver Half Marathon

The swag has dropped, and excitement is high for this year's Vancouver Half Marathon, taking place in person on June 23, 2024, or virtually from June 1-30, 2024. THIS RACE IS 90% SOLD OUT! Secure your spot and run a gorgeous 21 km or 5 km. Your prize? A beautiful medal, souvenir ASICS participant shirt, access to the Runkeeper Go premium experience and more! Register today at www.canadarunningseries.com

THEME MUSIC: Joseph McDade

Sawyer Nicholson is a pretty special human being. This twelve-year-old runs fast. Crazy fast. Like world-record-in-her-age-category fast. But her real superpower is the amazingly balanced perspective and joy she brings to her sports (she is also an amazing soccer player). Sawyer has big goals and wants to continue improving her skills as she grows, but she also recognizes that if it isn't fun, it's not worth doing. Friendships within her teams and on the start line are a big part of the equation, and the run community keeps her coming back for more. But after you listen to this episode, if you want her to sign your copy of Canadian Running Magazine, you will have to get in line behind me.

Samantha Jory is ridiculously humble for a runner who started running during COVID, started racing in 2022, and is now one of Athletics Canada's top-ranking women in the half marathon for 2024. Sam has always loved team sports and had active parents who were role models for her growing up in British Columbia; now she delights in trail running with friends and road racing in this beautiful province. Sam's running is deeply rooted in gratitude for the healthy body that keeps letting her test and find new limits and for the running community that has encouraged and supported her the whole way. I hope you take some of her joy and gratitude from this episode and find your own on your next run.

• The book Samantha mentions during the show is called The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday
• The run clubs she mentions are @eastvanruncrew and @fraserstreetrunclub
• Follow Sam on Instagram @swjory

EPISODE SPONSOR: Vancouver Half Marathon

The swag has dropped, and excitement is high for this year's Vancouver Half Marathon, taking place in person on June 23, 2024, or virtually from June 1-30, 2024. Secure your spot and run a gorgeous 21 km or 5 km, or bring your favourite little one to the kids' race. Your prize? A beautiful medal, souvenir ASICS participant shirt, access to the Runkeeper Go premium experience and more! Register today at www.canadarunningseries.com

THEME MUSIC: Joseph McDade

Chix Run the 6ix may have been born when the world was telling us to stay apart, but the heart of what they do is all about community. From the speaker stage at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, moderator and co-founder Amanda Richardson and her panel talk about how (as genuinely busy people) they find time and space to prioritize their own goals and how being part of the Chix helps to make it all happen. Chix are a super special crew: they focus on spreading the message that running is for everybody (say it again for the folks in the back!). They also highlight how you can have your own goals and make them important while at the same time supporting and cheerleading your fellow crew. Watch for them in the hot pink gear at a race near you and say hello!

Follow Chix Run @chixrunthe6ix

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EPISODE SPONSOR: Oasis ZooRun

Get ready to run on the wild side: registration for the Oasis ZooRun is now open! Taking place at the Toronto Zoo on September 14, this unique race brings together runners of all ages and abilities in support of wildlife conservation. Make this your next great adventure: register today at www.canadarunningseries.com

THEME MUSIC: Joseph McDade