Kelly Wiebe states that he will retire from distance running

Canadian distance runner Kelly Wiebe has announced that he is going to be retiring. This news came in a statement from Wiebe which he made public this week.

The Saucony-sponsored runner lives and trains in Vancouver. In 2015, he won the Modo Spring Runoff in Vancouver in early spring. As well, he placed 50th in the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships but now, he’s backing off from competition.

“This may come as a huge surprise for most of you, as I have never given any indication that I was wavering from the path towards the Olympics,” reads his statement.

I guess with all this attn it would look bad if I pulled a MJ in 2017? Thanks for the love all! CDN dist. running is only getting better!!

— Kelly Wiebe (@kwiebely) January 12, 2016

Wiebe says he hopes his fans will understand his decision to leave running and that he appreciates all the support that he has gotten from the Canadian running community.

He says that the financial and emotional support that he has received to aid him in meeting his goals did not go to waste.

“In pursuit of my Olympic aspirations in running, I have challenged my body, and my mind to the deepest extent. Through all of the sacrifices and experiences, I have come out a better person,” he wrote.

“I want to thank RAF and its donors for taking a chance on a small town Saskatchewan kid, and giving me experiences and memories I will use for the rest of my life.”

As far as making this decision goes, Wiebe says he has lost a lot of the passion that he once has for the sport. In his announcement he says the following:

“Over the past year, I found myself slowly losing my love and passion for the sport that has completely consumed my life over the last ten plus years. For a while, I fought this realization. Training had always been physically hard. It just wasn’t mentally hard because I loved it so much, and I was willing to sacrifice everything to get the absolute max out of mind and body. That changed. I told myself that I was just in a funk, it was part of the “grind,” and eventually things would get better. Instead, my happiness deteriorated as I continued to push myself through training.”

He adds that he is satisfied with his efforts and is finishing his career knowing that he has nothing else left to give and is completely happy with what he has achieved.