The 121,000m Dash

Follies, 2010

Last Saturday, I attempted something no one I know has done before. The mission? To run cross country Nationals and perform the final Saturday matinee of a musical all in one afternoon. My tools? Everything I needed for the race packed in one small bag, a pillow for the long drive, a hair/make-up kit packed in a travel bag, half my costume and a lunch prepared the night before. The problem? I was scheduled to race 5km at noon in Guelph, and had to make it back to London in time for a 2:00pm show. Luckily my dad drives fast!

I agreed to run Nationals the year before, and I had also accepted the role at around the same time. I had no idea the two would clash, and even though I sniffed out a conflict I tried to ignore it. But as we all know, pretending something isn’t there doesn’t make it go away. I had to face this monster, and with the help of a flexible coach and an obliging director I had worked out a tight schedule – which consisted of me running through the finish line straight into the open car door and then bolting into the theatre five or ten minutes before curtain.

10:30am, Guelph, I arrived at the university with enough time to properly prepare for the race. It had begun to snow harder than we had anticipated, but my dad figured he could make up for the possible lost minutes on the highway. I was not happy about having to race in the snow, but as a year-round runner I should be used to it by now. I met up with my other team mates and we went on a warm up jog together, cursing the snow and the ice we had to face. One member was especially upset after she stepped on a frozen puddle, breaking through the thin layer of ice and allowing her running shoe to become soaked in the muddy water below.

The four of us had plans to run in pairs for at least the first half of the race, as working together proves to have its benefits. It was more challenging than we had anticipated. It was difficult to locate your partner in the hundreds of women streaming past you, and once you did find each other it as hard to stick together. But no one could argue that we hadn’t stuck to the plan, because we all finished within several spots of each other – most of us finishing in the top 100 women.

I can not speak for the other girls, but I know personally I could have placed higher than I did. I could feel myself burning out by the very end of the season, but of course being in multiple shows during the cross country season may have been a factor.

Following the race, my dad and I located each other as quickly as we could before racing back to London. We had the GPS running so we had an accurate estimate as to our arrival time, and I used this to continuously update my stage manager. As my dad sped down the highway, I put on as much of my costume as I was allowed to bring out of the theatre doors. I used the tiny mirror on the visor in front of the passenger seat to apply my stage makeup, as well as fixing my curls into their usual springs and ringlets. I knew I certainly wasn’t going to be the prettiest chorus girl that day, but as long as I was there in time for my cue, I was happy.

One hour and seventeen minutes later, we pulled up to the stage door. Thanking my dad, I bolted inside the theatre – with ten minutes to spare.

That weekend, both my cross country season and the musical came to a close. I feel very fortunate that I was allowed to complete both, and that I had people to help me along the way, from every direction. Thank you to those individuals!

Nationals, 2010



            Conflicts can be a pain, and sometimes can lead to hard decisions. I was fortunate enough not to have to make any. But my best advice is to not put them off, deal with them before things get out of control. It not only puts a lot of stress on yourself, but also on your family. Racing and performing in one day is difficult enough