My race was going horribly wrong. Then I met the inspirational stranger who turned it all around

THE LAST couple of months have been a struggle for me leading up to my trail race. Over this time period, I’ve had to face my running fears as well as the physical discomforts of running. It should be no surprise then that the race in Albion Hills would be the ultimate test of my commitment and endurance and quite frankly, everything in between.

At 6.5 kilometres, it was the longest race that I have completed to date. It was also the hottest, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees Celsius. I was going into the race knowing that my energy levels and iron weren’t where they should be but I was set to do it.

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My first clue as to what would lie ahead would be witnessing how my kids’ races went. What my husband and I first thought was the look of steely determination, we actually quickly realized was upset grimaces. My son actually ripped off his number in anger as soon as he crossed over the line. It wasn’t exactly a shining moment. It also should have been a strong clue of what was to come…

AS SOON AS the race started, we entered into the forested area. There was a huge hill to climb. The kids had warned me about this and it was a big one. There was lots of sand, rocks and twigs on the trail so footing was tricky. This trail was strangely familiar to me, as memories came flooding back of past mountain bike races I had been in. I realized that I had already raced at Albion Hills. I remembered the gnarly, winding trails. The impossible hills. The beauty of the forest.

“If I just go a little further, I can do this.”

Then, 20 minutes into the race, I fell. It was not a graceful small fall– rather a full out Bambi splay. I went flying. I was sufficiently shaken and close to tears. It was sweltering hot. A large portion of the race was surprisingly not under the forest canopy. There were two water stations, one towards the beginning one towards the end of the race. It was a long and blistering four kilometres in between.

I was at my end. I decided that if we looped back to near the starting area and I saw my kids and husband, I would probably cry and pack it in. It was time to go home. Some say you win just by showing up… right? But then something magical happened. Suddenly, there was a winding and beautiful downward hill underneath the canopy that took my breath away. It was a ray of light. “If I just go a little further,” I thought, “I can do this.”

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Up ahead were two men running together. One had a screaming face tattooed on the back of his calf. I focused on it thinking, “That’s exactly how I feel right now.” Then, another man by the name of Paul Cheshire said: “What a way to spend a Saturday morning. I do so love green eggs and ham, Sam I am.” It was a bit odd. It’s not every day that a fellow runner quotes Doctor Seuss at you mid-race. I decided it had to be a good sign.

“Sometimes you meet people at exactly the right time.”

It was. Things started picking up after that. I got chatting with Cheshire and learned about his story. He quit smoking a few years ago and in focusing on his health, he started racing. He now runs with his children and wife in races across Canada and the U.S. My 2016 goal is to run 12 races in 12 months. His is to participate in 50 races in 40 weeks. He was participating in the enduro portion of the day’s race– double the distance of mine. He said that he may never come in the top 100, but he’ll always finish.

SOMETIMES YOU meet people at exactly the right time. Cheshire has inspired me to always finish the races that I start. I finished that race more inspired and determined than ever.