Deere in top shape as race day nears

At his day job, Jeremy Deere works with some of the most intellectually gifted customers imaginable.

For about a year, the fixture of the Calgary running community has toiled for Johnson & Johnson selling medical equipment to brain surgeons and neuro-interventional radiologists.

To keep up, Deere must move as quickly between the ears as his feet carry him on the Bow River trails. And that’s fast. “I’m actually in better shape than I have been for the last couple years,” Deere said, delivering what can’t be good news for the elite 10-kilometre competitors in Sunday’s Sport Chek Mother’s Day Run & Walk. “I was able to get more workouts in over the winter.”

The reason? Deere works primarily with doctors at Foothills Hospital and the University Hospital in Edmonton. While on business trips to the Alberta capital, Deere actually has spare time in the evenings to hit the trails along the North Saskatchewan River.

“When I’m up there, I don’t have kids to take care of — although my wife doesn’t want to hear that,” Deere said with a chuckle.

“So it’s actually been good for my training.”

In Calgary, Deere juggles his day job with ownership duties at Stride’s Running Store in Marda Loop. He is also a dad — and unofficial taxi driver — to son Matthew (9) and daughter Megan (7).

At the store, Deere teaches classes on how to run faster and more efficiently. In the future, he might consider adding a course in the fine art of time management for athletes and non-athletes alike.

His secrets include carrying both a Blackberry and an iphone for scheduling purposes (one smartphone can’t be possibly be enough.) He also keeps a pair of running shoes handy at all times.

Like the Boy Scouts say, be prepared.

“I thought as my kids got a little older, they would become less work,” he said. “But the truth is they have more activities now. My wife and I truly are chauffeurs for most of the week.

“So it’s a matter of getting runs in when my son’s at hockey practice or my daughter’s at gymnastics. It’s all about getting runs in when you have the opportunity.”

Deere figures he has an opportunity, of sorts, this weekend to win back his 10-km title in Calgary’s biggest race — a mantle he held for 11 straight years from 1997 to 2008.

Expected to stand in his way are reigning champion, Kip Kangogo and Willy Kimosop, both of Lethbridge. Benard Onsare, the beloved custodian at Canada Olympic Park, is also a contender.

All three are originally from Kenya.

“I try to get faster as I get closer to 40,” said Deere, who turned 37 on Thursday. “I’ll never be as fast as I once was, but if I can bring the times back down as I get closer to 40, I’ll be quite pleased.”

Kangogo and Kimosop finished 1-2 last weekend in the Vancouver half marathon. Onsare crossed the finish line second in the full marathon.

Fatigue might be a factor, Deere said. But it might not.

“I don’t know,” Deere said. “We’ll just have to see who shows up.”

There’s still time to sign up, at the race’s Fitness Fair at Mount Royal University today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 14,000 participants are expected for the 35th annual Mother’s Day Run & Walk that starts and ends at Chinook Centre. The event also includes a five-kilometre run and walk as well as wheelchair races at both distances.

According to Environment Canada, the weekend forecast is sunny with highs of 24 C predicted for Sunday.

“I don’t usually look at the weather report until the day before,” said race manager Todd Birss. “We’ve had terrible weather for the last three years. “We’re due.” Even with age creeping up on him, Deere can say the same thing.

“For me, this was the first 10-k I ever ran,” he said. “This is a fixture for runners in Calgary.”

And he’s a legend among them.