Runner Of Note
Christopher Heard
As a film critic, journalist and author, Christopher Heard certainly has a voice in this world. As an early-morning runner though, he doesn’t need to chat. He enjoys heading out solo for a run without headphones or other distractions. When he runs, his tall, athletic build, the running bracelets stacked on his wrist and his neon green jacket make him a standout on the streets. And if you catch him on the way to his gig at ctv News, you’ll likely hear him before you see him because he’s got a small collection of jangling running medals attached to his leather writer’s bag.
For almost 20 years, Heard has been providing entertaining commentary on topics ranging from Shark Week to the latest James Bond films. He has written celebrity biographies about James Cameron, Kiefer Sutherland, Britney Spears and Johnny Depp, among others. Although he isn’t living there now, he was the official “writer-in-residence” at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto for two years and wrote a book about it called The Suite Life. His soon-to-be-released book In Hemingway’s Room is sure to be another success. Clearly, Christopher Heard isn’t an ordinary runner. And yet he is.
Like a lot of us, Heard fell into running by accident. He was shy as a boy, so his father enrolled him in karate classes to increase his confidence. Part of that training involved running up and down a dirt road and he loved it. Since then, he has incorporated running into his life. As a daily runner, Christopher says he takes to the roads for the solitude, the discipline and the energy that gets beamed back to him. When asked about races, medals and running times, his childhood shyness returns and he says that he enjoys the camaraderie of races like the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon, but he sees his regular morning run as “a kind of personal best every day.”
Anyone who runs knows that we all need something to run for. When asked about his reasons to run, Christopher’s nine-year-old daughter Isabelle is at the top of that list. “As a dad, I want to be fit and energetic for her,” he says. Isabelle completed a 5k run this year and the father and daughter have already co-authored two children’s books together, including their latest Once Upon a Panda, which was released in February.
Heard has a job that requires a lot of travel and he always runs wherever he goes. “Running provides a wonderful way to explore new surroundings,” Heard says. His Gore-Tex shoes and Brooks all-weather running gear are the first things he packs when he gets called to interview a celebrity or attend a screening. Heard has run in almost every major city around the world, but he still feels that’s there’s no better place to go for a run than at home. “I adore my regular Toronto running routes the most,” he says, about to go for a run on one of them.
Karen Principato is a runner and writer from Claremont, Ont. Prior to 2007, Karen’s idea of going for a run was dashing off to the kitchen for a lunch of popcorn and Fudgsicles.
Heard has run in almost every major city around the world, but he still feels that’s there’s no better place to go for a run than at home.