I was never going to run unless I was chasing a ball…basketball, volleyball, etc…and then one day I just decided to start running for exercise and decided I kind of enjoyed it.  I started up a running group in physio school and was never into racing, just loved the fact that all we had to do was put on some shoes head out the door.  Since then running has become a great way to explore new places when traveling and racing keeps me striving for new goals…not to win, just to get better.

In 1999 a classmate of mine did a marathon so I decided that I should try that too….so my first official race was a half marathon, and then the Kentville Marathon, after which I landed in the hospital on IV.  Since then I did 5 more marathons, including Boston and then when a friend of mine asked me to be his running partner for the Dirty Duo as part of a bet, I trained for my first trail race.  While training I met a bunch of people who were training for 50k races and I thought they were nuts…I quickly fell in love with the trails but vowed I would never run more than 25k in a race, that was a long way (and still is)….but oh how you should never say never.  Since that time I somehow been co-erced into doing 4 Knee Knackers, many other local 50k’s, Stormy 50 miler a couple of times, the North Face 50 Endurance Challenge in San Francisco, the Vancouver 100 and the Fat Dog 120miler/195k, the Wasatch Front 100 and the Big Horn 100.   I somehow managed to have been fortunate enough to have been invited and gone to Ireland to the World Trail Championships as part of team Canada.  I am also grateful to have been surrounded by an amazing  group of adventure loving friends that has lead me to have done some amazing adventure runs, including the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim twice, the Juan De Fuca trail, the Howe sound crest trail a few times, the West Coast Trail and the Wonderland Trail. My most significant running accomplishment to date is finishing the Tor Des Geants 330km race in the Italian Alps in 2013.

I love introducing others to trail running and have not met anyone yet who hasn’t finished with a smile on their face!  This year my goals are to stay healthy while conning  friends into as many adventure runs as possible throughout the summer and to throw in a few races for good measure including Sun Mountain 50 miler, Knee Knacker 50k and the Angel’s Staircase 60km, all leading up to my ultimate goal of the summer which is yet again another attempt at the Tor Des Geants in September 2014.