Dylan Wykes is an Olympic marathoner and the co-founder of Mile2Marathon. The Kingston, Ont. native grew up going to Ottawa for hockey games and soccer tournaments, and recently made the move from Vancouver to the nation’s capital. Since moving from Vancouver to Ottawa, Wykes has settled into a routine and found some of the city’s best spots for running, eating and hanging out. Wykes is running the Ottawa 10K on May 25, and this is what a typical day of living and training looks like for him.
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Morning in Old Ottawa South
“I start my day with breakfast and coffee at home and then I run the kids to school in the stroller. We live in Old Ottawa South, which is just south of the Rideau Canal, off of Bank Street, and minutes from other great neighbourhoods like the Glebe.”
Running route
Wykes starts his run by dropping his kids off at school and then continues from there. His favourite route is what he calls the bridges run, because it crosses the Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal so many times. Check out his Strava for some of his favourite Ottawa routes, but here’s a shot of the bridges run if you’re in town for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend and looking to do a 24K shake out.
Lunch in the Glebe
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Post-run, Wykes likes the Wild Oat Bakery for lunch in the Glebe. This bakery, breakfast, lunch and dinner spot offers tasty vegetarian food and makes nearly everything from scratch.
Work and snack
After lunch Wykes puts in some hours coaching, which also happens to be his business. Wykes and miler-turned-cyclist Mike Woods co-founded Mile2Marathon to bring a top-notch coaching experience to runners. They’ve since recruited multiple Olympians as members of their coaching staff and have outposts across Canada.
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Wykes’ ideal afternoon snack spot is Little Victories coffee shop in the Glebe. Usually a donut accompanies the coffee.
Treatment
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After coaching and before picking up his kids, Wykes likes to get treatment at The Movement Company. They’re a chiropractic clinic that also provides strength coaching and gait analysis. Following treatment, it’s another stroller jog with his kids to bring them home for the day.
Dinner
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“If we’re going out to dinner, my wife and I love Manx, a pub on Elgin Street.” Wykes also adds that there aren’t any TVs in the restaurant, which he loves. “You can have good conversations with people, there’s great craft beer and ever better food.” For a post-dinner drink, Wykes will head back to the Glebe to Irene’s. “It’s a good mix of people, with a good beer selection.”
Best place to watch the Ottawa 10K
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Wykes’ favourite spot on the Ottawa 10K course is the Pretoria Bridge, which brings runners into the final kilometre of the race. “The last 1K runs along the parkway and it’s always a great cheering station with awesome energy. My kids will be there watching with my wife. I think they’d rather be at the park than watching me race, but I won’t take that personally.”
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