Rockin Runners

“I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass.” – Dave Lee Roth of Van Halen

There are Rock ‘n’ Roll marathons. Many of us run along to rock tunes whether on the roads or on the treadmill. I have come across a group of runners who do more than listen to the tunes they love. They have formed a running rock band.

Being a runner who has lived in and visited a number of places in Canada, I have made friends through running who live across the country. I also like to stay in touch with runners and groups across the country via Facebook and Twitter. I came across a singing, strumming and musical group of Canadian runners and had to find out their story.

The running band

Nova Scotia is a tight knit province where it is hard not to get top know the other runners in the province, or to have heard of each other. In the city of Dartmouth, N.S. — across the Harbour from the capital, Halifax — there is a new running group that has recently drawn in many local runners. The running club is called Heart and Sole. Some of their runners indeed have a great deal of soul and decided to let it out on stage as well as the roads.

These runners found they also shared a love of running and music. One thing led to another and before they knew it they had themselves a group and a great name, Sunday Run.

The current members of this fit group of musicians are Kelly Pitre (Lead Vocals/Mean Tambourine), Normand D‘Eon (Guitar/Vocals), John Lam (Guitar/Vocals), Greg D’Eon (Drums/Vocals) and Norman Hill (Bass). Four guys and the familiar face of a great female runner and friend I met in the stuffy academic halls of Dalhousie University.

I was intrigued.

I tracked down the running rockers and asked a few questions. Norm Hill was the one who spoke for the group.

How and why did the group start?

“The story on our website is pretty accurate. We all live in Dartmouth, N.S. and are all members of Heart & Sole Running Club. On one of our regular Sunday morning runs two years ago Norm D., John, Kelly and I were running together and chatting as runners do. Kelly told a funny story about singing karaoke. Norm says, “You’re a singer? I play guitar. We should get together and jam.” I mentioned that I played bass and John said he plays guitar, too. It was starting to sound like a band. One of the other runners with us offered up her husband as a drummer and we got together for a jam within the week. This year Norm recruited his son Greg when we lost our original drummer. From the beginning we gelled and we’ve had a blast ever since.”

How does the group tie into running and running events?

“We’ve played mainly running club parties and race-day events. Just this month we played the Run Nova Scotia annual banquet and dance. We try to have a few songs in our repertoire with a running theme: Run to You, Running on Empty, Hurts So Good . Yes, Hurts So Good, some of us are over 50.”

Do you find music and running go together?

“Like running, music is a great escape and release from the stresses and pressures of life. Everyone has a song running through their head (or in their headphones) when they’re running. We get together and bang out those tunes the next night.”

Who is the fastest band member?

“Not even a competition! Most of us will complete a 10k Sunday run at around a 5:45 per kilometre pace and maybe shave a minute off on race day. Greg finishes his 15K and relaxes with a coffee (well maybe a Gatorade) before we get back from 10. He definitely gives us cred as a runner band.

“We have an awesome time with it and have all become great friends. Rock and Roll, like running, brings people together.”

I am envious of the east coast group of rockin’ runners. I think we all harbour those inner thoughts of belting out a tune on stage or playing in a band with screaming fans. I also love what these runners are doing. Music and running so often goes together. Running winds its way through many of our lives and so does music.

Rock and run on, my east coast friends.

See you on the roads or in the blogosphere.

Do you have a great running story?

runningwriter@hotmail.com

You can also follow me on Twitter: @NoelPaine, or on my personal blog page where you can get more information on my 2014 running adventures.