Regaining life with running

“They say you can’t run away from your troubles. I say you can.” – John Bingham

(Ils disent que vous ne pouvez pas fuir vos problèmes. Je dis que vous pouvez.)

I find stories of change and regaining one’s health or life very inspiring when I am able to discover them—much more so when they involve running. Many of us stumble through life, wandering from one path to another—I like it when I hear about someone finding a path that is healthier and happier.

This blog is about a francophone Canadian runner who came to a point in his life where a change was needed and running helped him to regain his life and health. Living in Québec and working in Ottawa, this also allowed me to showcase someone from Canada’s french province.

Francois

Francois is a healthy looking 57-year-old who lives in au belle province du Québec in Laval. He is a father of three, has been married for 30 years and has four grandchildren. When not heading out the door for a run, Francois works as a senior relationship manager in the automotive division at Scotiabank.

Now an impressive runner with seven half- and seven full-marathons under his belt, four of which were in 2013, Francois seems to have been constantly improving since starting to run. In 2013 he improved his marathon PB three times. He ran 3:27 in Ottawa, 3:24 in Québec City and 3:22 at the Cape Cod marathon.

But Francois was not always a runner. In 2006 Francois was inactive. According to blood tests his prolactin and cholesterol were out of control, his testosterone was low and he had diabetes. He was told he had osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis. He was told to take nine pills each day.

I discovered Francois while watching the Québec television show Une pilule une petite granule. I tracked down Francois on Facebook and asked him to share his story with me.

When did you start running?

“In my previous life I was sedentary. My only activity, besides raising a family and working in an office, was to move between the couch and the fridge. I weighed 195 pounds at 5’7”. My waist was 42cm. I didn’t like myself. I then decided to take control over my life.

“In September 2007, my daughter Dominique was doing the Montreal half-marathon and while I was greeting her at the end she turned to me and said ‘dad, next year we will do it together.’ It was a deal.”

How did you train, lose weight and become a runner?

“When I learned about my health conditions in 2006 I started walking every morning, 1K at the beginning, 5K after two years, and I followed a diet. I don’t like the word ‘diet.’ I prefer to say that I make better choices with more vegetables and fruits. And I stopped eating chips, chocolate and fries. I was slowly but surely losing weight. I think that the weight you lose slowly doesn’t come back.

“In May 2008, following the challenge of my daughter, I started training by myself.  In the beginning, after 100 metres I was dead, but with time and perseverance I was running longer and longer. I had no clue how to train but I was running. The three weekends before the Montreal marathon I did three half-marathons by myself to make sure I would be ready for the race. Obviously I had trained too much and it didn’t go too easy during the race, but I did it with my daughter. We passed the finish line together.”

What message do you have for others who may be in the place you were?

“The message I would like people to remember is that it is never too late. Now I teach running to beginners and I can see them, just like me, gaining control over their body and over their weight problems. One of the ladies I’m running with has started at 68 and next September we will run the Montreal half-marathon together. She will be 70 years old.

“Running has changed my life forever.”

I love seeing people overcome a challenge or something that seems insurmountable. I am charged and inspired by your story Francois. J’ai vraiment apprécié que tu me donnes le privilege de partager ton histoire avec la communauté des coureurs Canadiens. Run on, Francois!

And in the words, les mots de Francois.

“Courir un marathon, c’est aller au bout de soi. C’est relever un défi qui nous semble absolument insurmontable pour le commun des mortels. Mais j’ai appris qu’on peut changer notre physique et on peut contrôler notre destinée.” – François Lefebvre

Francois’s next marathon is Miami on February 2, 2014, followed by Boston in April. He has already qualified for Boston 2015.

See you on the roads or in the blogosphere.

 Do you have a running story to tell?

runningwriter@hotmail.com