BY: CATHERINE WATKINS

With Spring just around the corner comes the excitement of Spring marathons. For many Canadian marathon athletes this means looking to secure a fast time to be considered for selection to one of the Canadian Marathon teams. For 2019 there are marathon team spots available for both Worlds and the Pan Am games, and for 2020 the Tokyo Olympics.

The selection for the world marathon team and the Pan Am team this year is quite straightforward. The top times within the qualification window, and that have achieved the World or Pan Am standard, will be selected to the team. The World standard for the women’s marathon being 2:37 and the Pan Am standard being 2:50. Athletics Canada has chosen to stay with the time standard criteria given by the IAAF. Selection for the Tokyo Olympic Marathon team however is slightly different. 

We love Washington, DC. And the many women who have become friends and teammates in this incredible city; the heartbeat of our country. Like all good relationships, it’s been building over time… to new levels of trust and connection. Maybe it started with our Born + Raced in DC tee way back in 2011. Or the run-friends we came to know through that city’s renowned races: Cherry Blossom, Marine Corps, and more. Or maybe it was the rushing toward each other we did following the 2016 election. We marched on Washington. We explored museums. We stayed sane - together.

BY: SAMMY GEORGE

I have been vulnerable in the past about my mental health struggles and I know that I want to share in hopes of relating to others. I have had many highs and growth in the last couple years, holding on to an ounce of hope that the rollercoaster of progression would eventually stay upward. Realistically everyone has different stories and journeys; some may not struggle as much and some may go a few years with upward progress to only be brought down temporarily by change. This is my truth and I hope to shed some light on the reality of how powerful the mind can be on an individual. 

When I first met Sally, I was a running skirt snob…maybe a throwback to my hippie upbringing but I couldn’t understand why anyone would run in a skirt. 

Extra fabric, why? Trying to look girly, why? 

I was 100% shorts all the time. But, leave it to Sally to change my mind. (I’ve learned to keep my mouth zipped shut when I initially don’t vibe with a new design, because without a doubt I’ll be wearing it enthusiastically within 4 weeks. There’s a reason I’m not on the design team!)

BY: ERIN GOOD

I’ve had the same dream every night since completing The Franklins, a 200-mile individual footrace directed by Trail Racing Over Texas that took place February 6-10^th at Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso. In my dream it is night, and I am hiking an endless, steeply-inclined mountain of red-hued talus and screen. My headlamp illuminates the never-ending stretch of trail four feet at a time. The hollow scrape of rock against rock and the scream of 50-mph wind gusts compete for my attention. Even in my dream, I can feel the throbbing pain in my right IT band. Every night for the past six nights I have had this dream, and every night for the past six nights I wake in a pool of sweat.

BY: BECKI & ANNA

How do you describe a near-lifelong dream come true – one that two people shared long before they knew each other – that was bigger than themselves? Becki (the B in BAnna), puts it best:

The feeling seemed to pour out of me as if I was a 12 oz cup being filled with 16 oz of fluid. It was more of whatever it was than I could hold. I felt something, it wasn’t the typical tear triggers like joy or elation, sadness, sorrow, regret or longing. I couldn’t put my finger on it. So, I sat in silence for the first time in a week and let the tears fall. After some time I texted my in-house Psychologist and fellow Volée Melissa. She hit the nail on the head: the feeling was gratitude.

BY: KENDRA CHAMBERS

In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to share some of my experiences of being a black female athlete in America. I hope by doing so, we can all take a look deeper into black history and learn from our past mistakes in an attempt to not repeat history, but to make the future better.

My experience in sports has been interesting. I’m sure if you ask any WOC (women of color) in sports they can tell you stories or incidents when their skin color mattered more than their sport, talent, identity, upbringing or character. I can think of several experiences through my career that made me question if I wanted to continue being an athlete if it came filled with black stereotypes that most people couldn’t unsee once they saw me or learned I was an athlete. 

On May 22nd, 2000 I wrote in my journal. I was a junior in college and I was running very fast. I had recently run 15:28 in the 5000m which was the fastest time in the country by quite a bit. I had also run 8:54 in the 3000m which was also the fastest in the NCAA. And I would run 4:12 in the 1500m at the Big 12 Conference Championships- also the fastest. Life was great. I was doing well in school, I was closing in on a national title. That night I wrote this in my journal, “Sometimes I wonder why God gave me this talent. I mean, am I touching the lives of other people with my running? Am I bettering the lives of others in any way? How? I was chosen for this talent, and for that, I am extremely grateful, but I’m not sure why.” 

BY: MARIA MICHTA-COFFEY

Have you ever stepped on the line of a race and were terrified you wouldn’t have what it takes to achieve what you wanted, what you desired, what you needed? I’m not talking about nerves, fear of competition, or even self-doubt. I’m talking about actual physical limitation.

Strong is empowering.

It’s knowing you belong in the free weight section of the gym, holding your own amongst grunting men.

Strong is seeing the number on the scale, but knowing it isn’t tied to your self-worth.

It’s the feeling that you can accomplish all of your goals.

Strong is standing up for your values regardless of what others say.

It’s the confidence to be unapologetically you.

Strong looks like you!

No surprise, I realllllly wanted my girls to love sports. Not just because we’re a family of athletes, but also because sports had been my ticket out of the Female Fire Swamp, where the Rodents of Unusual Size were everything from unhealthy relationships to a general I-don’t-know-what-I-want-to-do-with-my-life malaise.

Starting when they were in 1st or 2nd grade, we enrolled our girls (now 19 and 16) to participate in a variety of sports, mostly soccer and running. I’m grateful that, for now at least - it appears to have worked, as one is playing college soccer and running track, and the other is doing the same in high school. When I recently saw my older getting twitchy at home, “I need to workout; I haven’t worked out yet today,” I did an internal fist pump... “Yes! She’s in.”

BY: RILEY COOKS, Heptathlete

For me, some of the hardest weeks in my training have been the week directly following a big competition- aka “recovery” weeks. Of course, they’re not physically the hardest weeks in terms of training, typically consisting of light bike workouts, core, and a lot of stretching to help my body bounce back from the two days of competing I just put it through. What makes these weeks challenging is the mental strain and emotional drain that comes with finally finishing what I’ve spent months preparing for.