Canadian 800m champion Lindsey Butterworth on balancing life and running

Lindsey Butterworth is the reigning Canadian 800m champion. The 26 year-old had a huge breakthrough in 2018, running 2:00.81, the fastest Canadian time of the year, and represented Canada at the NACAC championships in Toronto. 

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Lots of runners struggle to find time in their day to train. Between work, kids, family and other obligations, running can sometimes take a back seat. Finding the balance between devoting time to your running goals and your career and family goals can be tricky. Butterworth is one of Canada’s best runners, but she’s not solely focused on the sport. The 800m runner works 9-5 and wouldn’t have it any other way. “I work in recruitment and admissions at Simon Fraser University. We travel around B.C. and across Canada to answer any questions that prospective students have.”

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Butterworth says that the fall is her busiest time at work, which coincidentally is also the slowest time in her track season. “When I’m out recruiting I work a lot of overtime, so I bank that time in the fall that I use in the new year for practices and races.” She fits her strength training into her lunch break three days a week and hits the track after work.

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When she has to work overtime or is travelling for work she will do harder workouts on her own, which she says can be a really good thing. “I do have to workout on my own sometimes, but I think that makes me a stronger athlete.” Because her job requires her to be on the road a lot, Butterworth says that she uses little breaks in her day to get all of her training done. She has to skip some socializing to accommodate training, but that’s what has to be done to accomplish her goals.

Butterworth recommends scheduling training into your life. Make an appointment to train, and know exactly when it’s going to happen in your day. “I do really like being busy and I really like the work that I do. I enjoy travelling and talking to students. This is the best full-time job that I could have.”