From 330 lbs to 42.2K: Olga Pekalska Runs for Team Heart with the Ottawa Heart Institute

 

2018 | Ready for Change

At 5′3″ and almost  330 lbs, elementary‑school teacher Olga Pekalska heard the same warnings at every appointment: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and failing thyroid. Doctors called gastric bypass her “only option.” Having watched family and friends struggle with lifelong side effects, Pekalska refused. She started replacing two meals a day with shakes, added short walks, and finished 2018 40 lbs lighter. “I got tired of hearing the same list at every appointment,” she says.

March  23,  2020 | Showing Up Online

As the world shut down in March 2020 amidst the pandemic, Pekalska feared losing momentum. She found broadcaster Lianne  Laing’s free Facebook Live workouts and reached out, asking if her fitness level was too low to participate. Laing replied, “This is how it starts—just keep showing up.” The following Monday, Pekalska typed “Good morning,” for her first workout and moved as best she could. “That message was all the permission I needed,” she says. “I kept logging in daily; a community was built, and a habit slowly formed.”

April 2020 – March 2021 | Working Inside‑Out 

“My transformation process was long, slow and hard,” Pekalska says. By spring  2021, the scale stalled, despite consistent movement and working with a dietitian. Deeper change came through therapy: “I began to learn obesity wasn’t just about being overweight and ‘needing to eat better’ and exercise to solve the problem,” she says. Some of the hardest work was on the inside, as Pekalska worked with a therapist to start healing emotional baggage, limiting mindset, and past traumas. “It was a daily decision to keep showing up for myself, stay consistent, committed and dedicated. Especially on days I didn’t feel like it or when the numbers on the scale went up.”

July 2020 ‑ Present | Finding Her Crew

When Laing became President & CEO of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, she launched JUMP IN —30 minutes of daily movement every September. Pekalska joined the inaugural challenge, which marked the beginning of her commitment to moving her body daily. She has now completed five JUMP INs, twice serving as ambassador for “Pekalska’s Rockstars,”  and fills her calendar with Foundation webinars, meet‑ups and celebration runs.

September 2022 – May 2024 | Getting Into Running

At the JUMP IN kickoff in September 2022, Pekalska met the Arboretum Hill Club and started their free 6:29 a.m. Friday workouts. Days later, a regular walk turned into an 8 km run‑walk. She entered the 2023 Richmond Road Race 10K, then tested 14 km, and eventually 16 km. Two weeks before Ottawa Race Weekend, she signed up for her first half-marathon and finished in under three hours. 

The following year, Pekalska completed her first full marathon at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, raising money for the Heart Institute and finishing in 6 hours 37 minutes. “I’m not fast by any means, but I’ve stopped comparing myself to other runners,” she says, grateful for the cheers from friends, strangers, and the Extra Mile Crew.

May 25, 2025 | Running for Heart Health

This May, Pekalska will run her second full marathon with Team Heart, supporting the University of Ottawa Heart Institute—Canada’s largest cardiovascular center, which performs over 1,600 surgeries and handles 240,000 patient visits annually. The Heart Institute also leads crucial research and awareness for women’s heart health. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading killer of Canadian women, yet 80% of it is preventable through movement and lifestyle. “I’ve seen the Heart Institute’s marvellous work with family and friends and in the community,” Pekalska says. “Even in stressful and scary moments, their care is always positive. The funds raised through the foundation support these kinds of experiences, along with needed research and new technologies.”

June 2025 | Turning 44 and Taking Up Space

A week after this year’s Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, Pekalska turns 44. “I am the healthiest and fittest I’ve ever been,” she says. Annual blood panels now read “normal/average”—a result she once thought impossible. Her negative self‑talk has calmed, and her confidence grows. “My life has become so much more than I could’ve imagined. I’ve travelled to go camping and hiking. I’ve run a half marathon, hiked, and freely explored Alaska last summer. That was my first huge solo trip, and I have a feeling I am only getting started.”​

Through countless early alarms and therapy sessions, Pekalska dismantled core beliefs. “It’s enough to just BE myself. There’s no need to perform, conform and please, to be liked, accepted and included,” she says.  “I was told often that I was too much or took up too much space. I now know it’s good and necessary to take up space in the world, and not try to hide, be small and stay out of the way. ”  

How Pekalska Did It (and How You Can Too)

“There is no easy button, but it is possible to change our reality when we commit to ourselves,” she says. “The hardest and scariest part is deciding you’re ready to take the leap out of your comfort zone and start. If I can do it, I know you can too. It’s not going to be easy… you’re not going to be motivated most days.”

She offers some tips:

  1. Start small. Set micro‑goals—five‑minute walks, water before coffee, parking farther away, an extra vegetable on the plate.
  2. Make it easy. Lay out workout clothes the night before and place them where you have to step over them.
  3. Make it fun. Join an activity group or dance in the kitchen—anything that keeps you moving.
  4. Celebrate everything. Every glass of water, early bedtime and workout is a win.

“It’s a forever journey,” Pekalska says. “Even though it’ll feel challenging for the first while, keep your commitment and dedication to yourself,” she says. The win is in showing up.

Join Pekalska and Move for Team Heart