Runner Kieran Lumb is on the road to success
“Making it to Paris is definitely the goal. It’s never something that’s guaranteed and it doesn’t come around very often, so you’ve got to make the most of it.”
Irrespective of the starting point, every individual is on a unique journey in life. For middle and long-distance runner Kieran Lumb, this journey entails a passionate pursuit: to represent his home country at the upcoming games this summer.
“It would be really special to represent Canada,” says Lumb, who broke two records in 2023 and won the Canadian National Championship and the Canadian Cross Country Championships.
“Making it to Paris is definitely the goal. It’s never something that’s guaranteed and it doesn’t come around very often, so you’ve got to make the most of it.”
Lumb, who started cross-country skiing in high school, transitioned to running partly because of the weather in Vancouver — where snow is rare, even in the winter — but also because of the opportunities it provided.
After juggling both running and skiing during high school and completing a particularly intense season of dry land training, Lumb was approached by a coach at the University of British Columbia (UBC) who suggested that he apply himself solely to running.
“I think that the stability going to university provided, where I could balance both academics and athletics, was really important to me,” he explains. “The same opportunity was not necessarily had in cross-country skiing, so, that’s how I started running more seriously.”
After finishing at UBC, Lumb still had some collegiate credit remaining, so he decided to attend the University of Washington in Seattle, where he developed as a runner and pursued a Master of Science in Information Systems.
It was at this time that he was introduced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), an experience that opened his eyes to new possibilities. Lumb was also offered a partnership with On, the pioneering Swiss-engineered athletic brand, which proved to be equally life-changing.
“When I was finishing university and transitioning from the collegiate running scene to professional running, the flexibility to stay with my college coach, Andy Powell, was really enticing because I had developed a really good rapport with him. That’s one of the reasons I went with On; they gave me the flexibility to continue using that collegiate set-up,” says Lumb.
“The relationship that On has with their athletes is pretty unique, and it’s very close-knit and family style. They really push, both with innovation and with trying to understand how they can best support their athletes, not just in competition but as a person, holistically. They even help us with financial advice, taking courses and professional development, so I feel very fortunate to be part of the On family.”
Lumb, who not only represents the brand but also works on product testing to help the shoe designers create the most comfortable and effective running shoes, trains in the On Cloudmonster, uses the On Cloudboom Echo 3 for workouts and swears by the On Cloudspike 10000m for racing.
Originally developed by professional triathlete Olivier Bernhard, the first On prototype was passed on by Nike, which ended up being a positive decision for the company’s founder, who not only wanted to create novel running products, but also a different kind of running experience and feeling.
With Nike’s ‘no’ fuelling him, Bernhard presented his concept to two friends, David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti, and the three of them formed the company in 2010.
One of the very first athletes to work with the Swiss brand was tennis legend Roger Federer, who became deeply engaged with the company.
In addition to recycled materials, the shoes are equipped with Cloudtec technology for soft landings and supreme take-offs, as well as a superfoam called Helion, for superior performance and comfort.
Fourteen years after market launch, On now delivers industry-disrupting innovation in premium footwear, apparel and accessories for high-performance running, outdoor and all-day activities, and continues to propel athletes like Lumb towards his dreams.
“I was happy to win the Canadian nationals this summer in the 15 and get my senior national title, as well as a couple of Canadian records. It means a lot to me.
“Each race is a stepping stone to the future, and I try to not put too much weight on any one race, even though some of them stand out,” he says.