Meet Ann

We met Ann at our Be Fearless race back in June. She absolutely smashed the 11km and won overall. She told us she had been wanting to be an ambassador for a long time. We get 1000s of applications for ambassadors and it can be hard to filter through them all… sometimes it takes meeting us in person to join the team!! We welcomed Ann as a late edition to the 2018 team… have a read of her story!

Hello! My name is Ann and I live in Calgary, Alberta. I am originally from the rural community of Sunshine, Ontario. I have an older brother who I am very close to. We had a blast growing up in the sticks! Our days were filled with playing outside and getting lost in nature. I’ve had a strong love of sports from a very young age. Most of my family members were hockey players (I guess I was the black sheep, as a runner). But my true passion for sport has always been running. I have always found peace and solace in running.

Everyone runs as a kid. Racing in the schoolyard, playing tag. I attended a very small rural school that enrolled every student (all 60 of us!) in a district fun-run each fall. At the age of 9, I didn’t really grasp the idea of racing. When I learned I had placed quite well, it occurred to me maybe I was kind of good at it. From then, I was hooked. If there was a race happening, I was determined to win. I competed in track and field events and cross-country running throughout elementary and high-school. I even managed to make several appearances at provincial championships in both cross-country and track and field.

I currently attend SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary, where I study Civil Engineering Technology, majoring in Municipal Design. I compete on both the varsity cross country and indoor track teams. I tend to favor the mid-distance track races; the 1000m, 1500m, and 4x400m relay. My first season of indoor track reminded me just how important a team is. The SAIT running family is incredible. Not only are they mentally and emotionally supportive, but having faster people to train with makes us all better athletes. In just one season I cut nearly 40 seconds off of my 1500m race time. I am so looking forward to what the cross-country season holds!

I work for a large road construction contractor in Calgary. I love the industry and the work. No two days are exactly alike, and I get to build some pretty cool things! Training and working in a demanding industry can be quite the challenge. I try to take advantage of every bit of extra time to myself I get and maximize the benefits of each workout I manage to squeeze in. Many of these workouts happen late at night after being on my feet for well over 12 hours already.

My biggest running inspiration has never been the world’s faster runner, or an athlete that is a household name. It has always been my uncle Glenn. He is a two-time Canadian junior wrestling champion. He understands the challenges and rewards of being a competitive athlete and has always been someone I relate to the most in this sense. His encouragement and support have been so greatly appreciated through my running journey. I hope I can make him as proud of me, as I am of him.

Being a part of the Run Like A Girl team is quite honestly a dream come true. This group creates such a positive and supportive community of athletes from all walks of life. Female athletes have a much higher tendency to drop out of sport in their early teens. I hope to inspire even one girl to continue on in her sport and be the best she can be. I believe all women should be proud of their bodies and of themselves. We are all strong and capable of incredible things! I am absolutely thrilled that I get the chance to share my passion for running and encourage the love of sport! I can’t wait to see what amazing adventures lie ahead!

-Ann