The Sky Is the Limit

Aysia Maurice, the 13-year-old winner of the CN Tower climb

Aysia Maurice has just hit her 13th year and already, her talent as a middle distance runner is undeniable.

The young teen from Bolton, Ont. – 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto, got into running early. In Grade 2, she took to the track after watching her big sister race. When she discovered both a passion and a strength in all things track, she enrolled in a club. Today, she does her intervals, training runs and speed work with 310 Running.

Before her 13th birthday, Maurice already managed to build quite a list of achievements. It’s probably enough to make her classmates fear her on the day of school track meets. Most recently, the tiny speedster showed up to the CN Tower climb – a mad dash up the 1,662 stairs all the way to the top of the famous Canadian landmark. The stair climb attracted 9,000 runners who competed in waves. Maurice was the first female finisher with her time of 12:53. 4. At the time, she said she just showed up to beat her 2016 mark. “It was really fun last time. I thought it would be cool to do it again,” she said.

A race up the CN Tower is a one-of-a-kind race, though that’s not easy to use as a point of comparison. For that, consider Maurice’s February performance in the 2,000m. Early in 2017, she ran at an indoor meet to cross the finish in 6:48, not only a PB, but also an indoor provincial record for her age group.

When asked what she likes about running, the student athlete said that she savours that sense of accomplishment she gets when finishing a workout or race. That and the feeling of relief that running often provides. “You feel free and don’t have to hold back,” she said in an April interview right after finishing her CN Tower climb. When not training on the track, she’s in school and doing normal kid things with her friends. This spring, she also took part in a musical at school.

Generally, school track meets that take place in spring are events that Maurice really looks forward to; it’s a chance to compete against her friends and get to know runners from other schools. But in 2017, she’s on a roll with her recent record and first-place in her goal race. At the time of reporting, Maurice has just tried out to run on Team Italy for the Italian Games. Whether that’s going to be the next goal she’ll work towards, we’ll just have to wait and see.— CR