Stories from the run commute: Running to the train

When Jon Kilmartin talks about his commute to work every day, he’ll tell you about the odd stares he gets as he hops on the train each morning. That’s because Kilmartin’s commute from the east end of Burlington, Ont. to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont. involves going for a run, getting on a train, and then running the last segment.

“Basically you jump on a train full of executives in February in full running gear (tights and all). Everyone else is all suited up on their phones, tablets or reading the paper,” says Kilmartin. “They look up and see this guy who just ran onto the train and is standing by the door waiting to run off again.”

He runs one of three routes every day. The long one is 16 kilometres there and back. The medium is 12 kilometres to and from and the short one is six kilometres there and 12 back. The total distance to work is 38 kilometres so he always has to include a section of train ride.

This is a habit that started four years ago. “My wife and I needed a second car, we were discussing our options when one day I blurted out ‘I could just run to work,'” says Kilmartin. “Fast forward four years and I am ‘that guy who runs to work’ in the office.”

It was also a decision he made to deal with his family life better. When he started, his sons were one and three years old. He wanted more time to spend with his family and was frustrated by the time wasted in traffic. Balancing everything was getting too difficult. “I would wake up early in the morning, run, shower then get into the car and sit in traffic for an hour. Only to have to sit in traffic for another hour on the way home. This was about three and a half hours per day, five days per week,” he says.

Now, he can use that same three and a half hours to be much more productive. “I can now get in significantly more miles, spend less time in traffic each way on transit, and I save money by not needing a second car,” says Kilmartin.  

How does it work? There’s a fitness centre in the office building. Kilmartin can shower there. There’s also a small kitchenette to assemble lunches and snacks. Then, once or twice a week, Kilmartin drives in to the office. With him he brings food and fresh clothes which he swaps for the dirty ones. “Fashion is definitely a sacrifice you have to be willing to make,” he says. “I tend to repeat the same set of clothes at some point during the week.”

There’s one other sacrifice. While runners often brag about being able to run along river banks or through mountain scenery, getting in those types of runs every day isn’t realistic. Kilmartin describes his route commute as boring. When asked what he sees while running, he says roads and lots of traffic– not a commute you’d bring your friends along on. “A friend of mine who works at MEC Burlington run commutes and takes the Bruce Trail in from Hamilton,” he says. “I curse his name every time a bus splashes me or I wait at a red light for what feels like five minutes in the rain.”

On the plus side though, when others are citing work and busy schedules as the reason for not staying on top of fitness, Kilmartin doesn’t have that problem. Not only is he getting in the runs, his mileage is actually high. And on summer days, he’s just thankful it’s not -30C outside.