Living a passionate life

By James Clarke, Parksville Qualicum Beach News

An interview in two parts with Wheelchair racer Michele Stilwell.

Part 1: http://www.pqbnews.com/sports/147677745.html

Part 2: http://www.pqbnews.com/sports/148193415.html

Cliff Childs Interview

By Chris Kelsall

University of Victoria Vikes cross-country and track athlete Clifford Childs, in his fifth and final year of eligibility, helped his team to their ninth, tenth and eleventh Canada West cross-country titles in the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport). They placed third nationally, with 82 points finishing behind Guelph (20) and Windsor (49), respectively on November 12, 2011.

While the Kelowna, BC native and Vikes Team Captain is finishing up his economics degree, he is planning on helping the Vikes to more team awards at the CIS Track and Field Championships, to cap off the 2012 Vikes season March 8th through 10th at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

Read the interview: http://athleticsillustrated.com/interviews/clifford-childs/

 

John Atkinson podcast – Inside the Runner’s Mind

VFAC’s John Atkinson has launched a new podcast.   The premise is to interview exceptional runners and members of the running community – finding out why they run and how/why running has become such an integral part of their lives.

Kicking off the inaugural episode of Inside the Runner’s Mind is an interview with one of the fastest masters runners around:  British expat and Canadian transplant, Kevin O’Connor.  Hear about Kev’s cherished red spikes, his nutrition secrets and how he famously hired a new coach after PB-ing in the ’96 Sun Run.

Brew yourself a pot of tea, sit back and put your feet up, and listne to the in-depth interviews here: http://bcjohnny.podbean.com/

Cameron Levins Interview

By Brandon Laan

Runners Feed had the opportunity to catch up with the 2012 Canadian Cross Country Champion who also placed 4th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships one week ago! Levins shares how much he values his friends and family and how he can’t wait to don the red and white singlet post collegiately (perhaps at the 2012 London Games!).

Read the interview: http://runnersfeed.com/interview-with-canadian-national-cross-country-champion-cam-levins/

 

Geoff Martinson Interview

By Christopher Kelsall

Geoff Martinson is a Canadian Olympic hopeful and IAAF Worlds Track and Field Championships competitor (Daegu 2011). Martinson competes in middle distance events and is on the cusp of making the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 1500m.

Martinson is a seven-time Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Canadian and was the University of Victoria’s Athlete-of-the-Year for 2009, his final year at the University.

He owns several other varsity athletic accomplishments possibly best capped by his 2008 and 2009 CIS 1500m Gold Medals and 4x800m team Gold.

Read the interview: http://athleticsillustrated.com/interviews/martinson-geoff-2/

Mark Bomba Interview

By Chris Kelsall, Flotrack

Three-time Canadian national champion Mark Bomba recently joined Trinity Western University as the team’s Endurance Director.

He was a national champion in both the 10,000 metre and half marathon distances (in 2005) and in cross-country ( 2000). Bomba competed in the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2005, the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2001 and 2003 and the Chiba Ekiden Relay in 2002 and 2004. He was also the 1993 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) national champion in the 1500 metre event while competing for Vancouver’s, Simon Fraser University.

In my own experience in wanting to develop a deeper understanding of training methodologies, I have had extensive conversations with Bomba about great athletes and coaches from all over the world. His knowledge of the Australian, English and especially New Zealand-based athletes and coaches is extensive. Like most of those coaches, he has been nothing but open and willing to share.

The following interview delves into his love for the sport, the lifestyle and the profession. He provides in-depth answers in a way that will provide any reader an excellent perspective on the sport of distance running especially from the collegiate and national levels.

Read more: http://www.flotrack.org/article/7014-Mark-Bomba

Cameron Levins Interview

By Chris Kelsall

Cameron Levins of Black Creek, British Columbia, capped his 2010 cross-country season Saturday, November 27th with a stunning victory at the AGSI Canadian Cross Country Championships in Guelph, Ontario.

Levins (29:25.7) finished 24 seconds ahead of the favored, Rob Watson and 39 seconds ahead of Reid Coolsaet, both of whom train with the Speed River Track Club. He also finished well ahead of former NCAA All-American Kip Kangogo (30:22.7) and 2010 NCAA steeplechase champion Matthew Hughes (31:10.7) who runs for the University of Louisville.

Athletes had to face freezing temperatures and a snow-laden course. Earlier in the day a mini-blizzard swept through the region.

Levins is currently red-shirting at Southern Utah University where he is working on his degree in Exercise Science. I had the occasion to catch up with Cameron recently to talk about his win and goals for the coming indoor and outdoor track seasons.

Read more: http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/3825-cameron-levins-canadian-cross-country-champion

Jennifer Joyce delivers RJT in Prince George

On Tuesday, August 10th, Jennifer Joyce delivered RunJumpThrow to 40 kids in Prince George as part of an ActNow BC Athlete Ambassador visit. She visited children at the Carney Hill Neighborhood Summer Program and also spent the afternoon leading drills at PacificSport Northern BC’s XploreSportZ camp.

Click here to see an interview with Jennifer where she talks about the importance of teaching children sports skills early, and specifically the basics of track and field.

The Sprinter and the Quarterback: Channell endures, thrives while cherishing memories of Dittrich

By Howard Tsumura, The Vancouver Province

Between her tears, the ones that tell you that her grieving is a process still in progress, Jane Channell comes to the realization that she has broken out in a smile.

And that’s a good thing, because on too many days since the sudden Nov. 11 passing of her boyfriend, 21-year-old Simon Fraser Clan quarterback Bernd Dittrich, those same tears have choked at her words.

Therapy, it seems, can come from the simplest acts of courage, like talking about your greatest loss.

Read the complete story: http://communities.canada.com/THEPROVINCE/blogs/littlemanoncampus/archive/2010/05/08/the-sprinter-and-the-quarterback-channell-endures-thrives-while-cherishing-memories-of-dittrich.aspx

Lovett’s lift-off reaching world class heights

By Howard Tsumura, The Vancouver Province

In Django Lovett’s world, art is doing a pretty fair imitation of life these days.

On June 5 at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium, the senior from Langley’s Brookswood Secondary will attempt to become the first boy to win three straight provincial prep high jump titles when he competes at the Subway B.C. high school championship meet.

But before then, you can catch Lovett on stage as part of his school’s annual drama festival, an event in which students pen their own scripts with casting courtesy of the student body.

Read the complete story: http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/high_school_hamper/archive/2010/05/20/lovett-s-lift-off-reaching-world-class-heights.aspx

Out in front and ahead of her time

By Howard Tsumura, The Province

It’s doubtful that any of the competitors who lined up to oppose Katie Reid last Saturday in the track and field capital of the U.S. had any idea of just how young she was.

Yet there was the Grade 11 standout in the university division of the 400 metres at the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field, the fabled facility on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene made famous by the late middle-distance icon, Steve Prefontaine.

Competing against a field comprised exclusively of NCAA athletes, the 16-year-old from Surrey’s Earl Marriott Secondary won the race in 55.28 seconds, a full second ahead of second-place AshLee Rey, Idaho’s former 5A high school champ at the same distance, and a runner five years her senior.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/front+ahead+time/2993392/story.html#ixzz0oVwPGsrJ

Malindi Elmore Interview

By Christopher Kelsall – Flotrack

Stanford University alumni Malindi Elmore from Kelowna, British Columbia, grew up active and very involved in many sports. Her primary game was soccer however, she went on to win three provincial (BC) championships at the 1,500m distance and was the top-ranked Canadian junior for 800m and 1,500m from 1996 through 1998, meanwhile she became inspired to commit to running, at that time, from watching fellow British Columbian Leah Pells race in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Elmore, 2009 Canadian 10, 000m Champion, recently won the Vancouver Sun Run 10k in her first attempt at that event, with a personal best finish time of 33:06, despite a rather cavalier start.

Read the complete interview here: http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1918-malindi-elmore

Alyx Treasure’s new measure helps high jumper prepare for historic challenge

By Howard Tsumura – The Vancouver Province

It’s been almost two years ago that she hit her highest high, yet the truest measure of Alyx Treasure is her willingness to keep jumping back into the fray.

In June of 2008, as an underdog 10th grader from Prince George’s D.P. Todd Secondary, Treasure served notice of her substantial skills by winning the high jump at the Subway B.C. high school track and field championships.

Read the complete story: http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/high_school_hamper/archive/2010/05/13/alyx-treasure-s-new-measure-helps-high-jumper-prepare-for-historic-challenge.aspx

Iron Man a fitting nickname for Kwantlen Park’s Justin Kent

By Howard Tsumura – The Vancouver Province

Justin Kent is not a comic book super hero, although when you hear his story you may beg to differ.

For starters, he not only shares a surname with Superman, but his friends have lately taken to calling him Iron Man, a moniker that even Robert Downey Jr. would say is richly deserved.

Read the story here: http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/high_school_hamper/archive/2010/04/30/iron-man-a-fitting-nickname-for-kwantlen-park-s-justin-kent.aspx

Dylan Haight Interview

Christopher Kelsall interviews Victoria’s Dylan Haight.

Dylan Haight is a rising star. Based in Victoria, BC, Dylan ran High School track and field and cross-country for Oak Bay High, perpetuating the successful history of Oak Bay’s athletics program. Coached by Keith Butler, Dylan has developed into one of Canada’s top junior runners, recently competing on the world stage at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships in Poland – as a junior.

Read the complete interview here: http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1824-dylan-haight

Shai-Anne Davis Feature

Kajaks sprinter Shai-Anne Davis was recently featured in the Richmond Review as one of 30 people with Richmond roots who take pride in their work and community and are under 30.

Read the story here: http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/community/88839612.html

Justine Johnson Interview

Christopher Kelsall interviews Victoria’s Justine Johnson.

Justine Johnson, born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia competed in High School for Oak Bay under long-time successful coach, Keith Butler.

She competed at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in March of 2009, running for Team Canada in Amman, Jordan and qualified for Worlds by placing fifth at the 2008 Canadian Junior XC Championships after taking 16th the previous year, she took fifth at the 2009 NACAC Championships in Florida and finished sixth at the 2008 Canadian Junior Track Championships in the 1500-meters. Johnson was the B.C. Provincial Cross Country Champion as a junior and a senior after placing second as a freshman and sophomore. She also won the provincial titles at 1500m and 3000m as a junior. She did not defend titles as a senior due to illness

She now runs for the University of Washington, and lists fellow Canadian Anita Campbell as an inspiration.

Read the complete interview at http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1791-justine-johnson

Jim Finlayson Interview

Christopher Kelsall interviews Victoria’s Jim Finlayson.

Jim Finlayson is a former Canadian Marathon champion, three-time competitor in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and winner of the Royal Victoria Marathon. He competed for NCAA Division 1 University of Michigan before running for the University of Victoria and eventually owning the streets of Victoria, BC. He also owns the Kingston Beer Mile World Record, with his official performance – an astounding 5:09.
 
Finlayson (aka, ‘The Flying Finn’ or ‘Finn’) is a highly consistent runner despite a life hurdle – he suffers from Multiple Sclerosis – and is mostly a self-coached athlete; that is until recently.

Jim took the time to chat about his gradual transition to coach, while he continues to compete, balance family, work, beer-miling and although it’s a few years away, plans his potential assault on the local masters age-group.

Read the complete interview at http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1717-jim-finlayson