Heeding the Call

This time last year, I was in New York covering the nyc Marathon, and I was fortunate enough to run in Barcelona, Boston and Los Angeles in 2019. Little did I know that there wouldn’t be an nyc Marathon – or any mass-participation races – in 2020. Or that it would be the last time I would leave Ontario for at least a year. I’m not complaining – I’m fortunate to have a job and a healthy family. But the world has changed, and the onus is on us to ref lect these changes in our pages.

This month, Andrea Hill ref lects on how the pandemic has affected the world of running (p.34). In addition to our regular winter shoe review (p.54) and holiday gift guide (p. 44), we have three-time Olympian Rosey Edeh profiling two runners who couldn’t be more different: transplanted Newfoundlander and cbc Radio host Tom Power (p.61) and Vancouver ultrarunner Filsan Abdiaman (p. 40), who appeared on our cover three years ago. Former Ontarian Chantelle Erickson writes about the running scene in her adopted hometown of Lethbridge, Alta. Erickson also contributed to the Great Debates feature (p.28), which takes a sometimes-serious, sometimes-humorous look at the things runners love to argue about. Trying to ref lect diversity in running doesn’t just mean featuring more writers and runners of colour. With The Back Straight, we introduce a regular department about masters runners (to alternate with Honour Roll, which features up-and-comers). This month we profile Dr. Janet Green of Comox Valley, B.C. (p.62), who runs about 20 marathons a year, defying all stereotypes.

We also thought it was time we had some regular nutrition advice in the magazine, and this month Rachel Hannah, RD, addresses the pernicious belief that to be fast, you must be thin (p.17).

Trying to equitably cover the bases in a bimonthly magazine is a work in progress. We welcome your letters, comments and suggestions at info@runningmagazine.ca.