I’ve always been running, going back to my high school days. In 1990, I was watching the marathon race with my sister-in-law and at the finish we saw this gentleman running with a blind athlete. We looked at each other and said, if those two can do it, we can also do it. So we trained for the following year. I dedicated my run to my mother, who didn’t get the chance to see me run,= as she passed away way too young. For the next 10 years I ran the marathon. Then I got into Ironman triathlons so I had to cut back on marathons. I have been participating in the Ottawa Half Marathon for the last 18 years. About 6 years ago, I signed up to be a Pace Bunny. I have been running as a Pace Bunny since then. Now, I have to run at a slower pace because I have developed osteoarthritis in my knee, and I'm running with a custom knee brace. When I line up for this year’s time of 2:20 hrs, I tell the runners that are around me, If I can do it, you can also do it.....I love seeing first timers faces before the start of the race. I have seen first timers come back the following year and thank me for last year’s race. Glad they kept it up. I hope to keep doing this race for as long my knees will keep me going, because every run is dedicated to my mother.
