#MyRunStory – Sean Wilson
I’ve been a runner since 2006, when I decided to go out and do the Vancouver Sun Run without any training. Back then, I weighed around 250 lbs and hadn’t been doing any physical activity for a couple of years, but it was still only a 10km, right?
Let’s just say that it was not my favourite day, and as my run partner had to drag me along, I realized just how out of shape I was. I knew I needed to make some changes in my life. So I set a goal for myself for the late summer: I was going to do a short sprint triathlon.
A couple of times a week, I would go on the treadmill until I could run for more than 15 minutes at a time. Then I started to get out for runs on the Seawall before or after work. When the weather was good, I biked to and from work and even did a couple of swims here and there.
In August 2006, I toed the line in Harrison Mills for my race: a 400m swim followed by a 20km bike ride and finished with a 5km run. I was racing with the same person I’d done the Sun Run with back in the spring – and this time I was the one pulling them along during the run! When I finished the race, I was hooked and immediately signed up for another the next week.
At that race, not having to wait for anyone, I took 15 minutes off my time. I went home and signed up for another, then another. However, one thing I realized is that I didn’t really know what I was doing. So I joined a run clinic later that summer, and that was where the magic started.
I met a lot of people who were also interested in running, I picked up tips and tricks from the pros and our run clinic leaders, and I started to really find myself in this new “hobby”. As my distances started to get longer, and my times started to get shorter, my enjoyment started to grow. Since that first run clinic in August 2006, I have run the Sun Run every year, I’ve participated in 5 marathons, 2 ultra marathons, 2 Ironman triathlons and a ton of shorter races.
More importantly to me, I’ve been helping others since that first run clinic. I started doing Sun Run leader clinics and training people through the inTraining program. I’ve also led run clinics at work and in various other locations.
I have had the pleasure and honour of helping people go from the couch, having never run before, to their first 5km race. I’ve also had the privilege of helping train people to achieve their fastest half-marathon.
Running has been a big part of my life since that Sun Run in 2006, I’d be thrilled to help make it a part of yours.
Sean Wilson
Maple Ridge Run Clinic Leader
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