PART ONE: Once Upon A Time...

Auditions, races, school, workouts, and rehearsals- does it ever end? Juggling both and acting and running careers is not as easy as it looks. To say my plate is usually full is an understatement.

            Beginning a blog about running and training was suggested the coach of a running group I’ve been a member of since fall 2007, London Runner Distance Club (LRDC). I’ve tried to think of how I can make my running career sound interesting, and what exactly I can write about it. Before I let you in on my current life at the moment, I thought I’d first catch you up. It’s too much to summarize in one post (plus I tend to be fairly wordy and descriptive when I write), so I’ve decided to describe it one section at a time.

PART ONE: Once Upon A Time…

           

            I’ve done it all- from ballet to basketball to sewing lessons. My parents signed my siblings and me up for all kinds of various activities throughout our grade school years. Sometimes it was because we showed an interest in the activity, other times it was just to gain a learning experience. Over the years, I have discovered two very different passions that get me out of bed every morning.

            I first discovered acting. I had been shy as a kid, although I never gave up an opportunity to put on a show for family or friends. At the age of four, I was signed up for my first year of acting classes at The Theatre School, and I became a different kid entirely on stage. Even though I was still flying from soccer to swimming lessons to art classes throughout the week, I always looked forward to my Saturday morning acting sessions.

            I was then was introduced to running; I ran my first cross country race in third grade. My dad was a fairly good runner in his youth, so I decided to give it a shot. I suppose I didn’t quite gather the whole “competitive aspect” of the running scene. I was content with running towards the middle of the pack, quite often grasping a friends hand as we ran together. I loved prancing up and down a long hill in a zig-zag fashion- it was more fun than running straight across it, how boring! Little did I realize that I added a few minutes onto my overall time, but not that I was all that interested in personal best times at that point in my running career.

When I mentioned I wasn’t very competitive, I mean I really wasn’t all that competitive. Growing up, I had always been taught to be on my best behaviour and was well versed in all my manners. So instead of shoving my way to the front of the other kids where the yellow tape bottle-necked into the finish line, I would kindly step aside and allow each kid directly around me to go first until there was a big enough gap for me to finally cross the finish line. I suppose I figured they had already figured out where I had placed at that point, but I wasn’t that concerned about placing then. I was generally about 60^th in my regional cross country meets, and only the top 20 make it on to the finals.

            In fifth grade I was in my second year at Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts for drama, and continued to complete in both cross country and track. I was still a mid-pack runner, and continued to jog with friends rather than join the dog-eat-dog pack at the front of the race. In the fall of grade five however, I placed 19^th in my school’s regionals. I didn’t realize that I had even made it to the finals until my coach had to call me down for the meeting he was holding for all cross country finalists in regards to the upcoming race. I was excited and proud; however it was really just another race to me. It went well, and that same year I competed in track and field finals for the 1500m race, missing qualifying for the 800m race by only one place. I had developed an interest in the sport, but I still lacked the competitive edge.

Me, summer 2005

            The following cross country season, I was lined up to race a meet held at my own school. I raced ahead at the gunshot. I don’t recall what made me do it, all I remember is thinking how proud my parents will be when I tell them I was first for the start of my race, because I figured the usual pack of kids would pull ahead of me at any minute. However, no one did. I remained in first place for the majority of the race. It wasn’t until the last kilometre and a half that a girl with fairy blonde hair pulled back into a French braid (don’t ask me how I remember that) jogged past me. Finally, a little spark of competitiveness kicked in. I sprinted ahead of her, and kept at that pace until I was confident she couldn’t catch up. One of my teacher’s was rabbiting the race on his bike, and boy wasn’t he surprised to see me prancing beside him! I pulled into the finish line with a huge grin as I realized I had even finished before some of the last boys from the race before mine. This race, this first win in sixth grade, was the beginning of my running career.

            My acting took off right around the same time. I was in grade seven when I was casted in my first community theatre production. I preformed as Lucy in Victoria Playhouse Petrolia (VPP)’s production of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I thought I was famous. I remember standing in line at a Tim Horton’s and signing an autograph for a young boy on a napkin. I was so elated afterwards that as I sat down with my family to enjoy my muffin, I saw a flash in the window and cried out that the paparazzi had taken my picture! It was only a flash of lightning. Seems like both my running and my acting were taking off!

My friend and I (right) in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (spring 2006)