Trail runner of the year:
Kathryn Drew
For many years, Kathryn Drew has been one of Canada’s most talented endurance trail athletes, but in 2019 she started turning heads beyond our national borders, too. She rang in the new year in January by going straight for a Western States Golden Ticket at the Bandera 100k race in Texas. Alt hough she podiumed in t hi rd place, she still made a name for herself, beating 2016 Western States winner, Kaci Lickteig. A few months later she won the prestigious Chuckanut 50k, which saw the snowiest conditions Drew had experienced in her six years of racing there. In April, she headed south again to snag a Golden Ticket by winning the Canyons 100k. Her Western States 100 taper kicked off with a quick three-day trip to Portugal to race 44k and represent Canada for the second time at the Trail Running World Championships.
Drew rounded out the first half of 2019 with an incredible performance at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. At mile 80, Drew and her crew broke out in a dance party on the trail, and she still finished in eighth place with a time of 18:59:08 in a recordbreaking year. After some recovery, Drew raced to first after falling three times at the Valley to Vertikiller 25k race. In December, she plans to return to Deception Pass Park to break her 50k course record. If the running world didn’t know who Kat from Canada was before 2019, they do now.
It may be t he pirate cheerleaders or the post-race recovery pickles. Perhaps it’s the Atlantic beer chilling on ice and served by pirates from a canoe. Unequivocally, though, Maritime Race Weekend stands out.
Starting and finishing in Fisherman’s Cove, a wharf and fishing village only ten minutes from Halifax, there are four races to choose from: Sunset 5k on Friday night, and the Sunrise 5k, Coastal 10k and Scenic Half-Marathon st a r t simult a neously on Sat urday morning. Runners seeking a challenge may attempt the popular Tartan Twosome, which involves running a race on both days. People from the community line the streets with cow bells and encourage runners along the coastal routes.
There are fiddlers, highland dancers, local performers and, of course, pirates greeting the f inishing runners. The pir ate t heme def initely set s t his event apart . Costumes aren’t mandatory, but they add to the fun and are strongly encouraged, with cash prizes for the best pirate costumes. The racekits and medals are second to none.
A tailgate party awaits racers at the f inish line, with sponsors peppering racers with replenishments, including chocolate milk, local artisanal toasted bagels, hot popcorn, fresh fruit , electrolyte-filled pickles and beer. Rogers Communications also hosted a Kitchen Party: a two-hour East Coast concert included with registration.
The festivities and community feel coupled with the courses’ scenic and fast routes have runners come from far away to race. After downing the free and local brew, with aching legs and fiddle jigs singing in their minds, many r acers jump in t he At la nt ic Ocean’s shallow cove to cool off. There is no better ice bath, and it’s part of the unique experience only found in Nova Scotia.
Join in the fun. Next year, Maritime Race Weekend will be held on September 11 and 12, in Halifax.
Jamal Burger and Christian Epistola founded The Kickback in 2017, out of a desire to give back to the mixed-income Toronto neighbourhoods they grew up in: Regent Park and the esplanade. Leveraging sneaker c ult ure’s powerf ul draw, The Kickback, in part, provides at-risk youths with donated, lightly-worn running shoes from the biggest brands in the industry. The Kickback (or tkb) also hosts casual weekly runs with participants ranging from 12-to-30 years old. tkb Run Club runs gives the founders and other mentors a reason to interact with young community members more often, and talk about ways of improving themselves and their communities.
“We used the sneakers as a platform just to teach,” Epistola said in a recent cbc interview, remembering how important his own sneakers were to him growing up. “It gave us access to safe transportation and physical activity. Often you don’t see that as a kid.” As of fall 2019, the program has provided over 3,500 sneakers to at-risk youth and opened new tkb chapters in Vancouver, Boston, Panama, with more to come.— CR