I'd like to introduce a LRDC club member with her own story. I approached Sherisse earlier about writing a "guest blog" for me, and luckily she agreed. Sherisse is a very dedicated runner, with a 5:27 PB in 1500m and 20:50 PB in 5000m. However what makes her running experiences unique is not what she runs, but rather where she runs.
" What is the best way to discover a new city? By running, of course. I started running about a year and a half ago. Throughout that year and a half, I have lived in two different cities and have done some travelling. I realized that with running, you can get to know a new city much quicker, and more thoroughly than I ever have before.
I moved to Montreal after finishing my Undergraduate degree in Toronto and I joined the Concordia cross country team in 2009. This is when I started to run. Being on the team encouraged me to discover new paths in Montreal during my easy runs so I could keep the runs interesting. I found that after one year of running in Montreal, I knew the city way better than I had known Toronto after four years. The biggest challenge for me in Montreal was running in the winter. While I thought the city- especially the mountain- was very pretty in the winter, returning home from a run with my face so numb that I can barely speak due to extremely cold temperatures became a norm. Being a girl who complains when the temperature drops below 20 degrees Celsius, I realized that I must really love running to have successfully survived running through a Montreal winter.
After a year of living in Montreal, I moved to London, Ontario for school and joined the London Runner’s Distance Club, where I met Katie. I was disappointed moving from Montreal to London—a much smaller city with fewer restaurants, people, festivals, and seemingly much less excitement. I think that without running, I would have thoroughly hated London when I moved there. Thankfully, I moved in August, well before the snow came, so that I could still explore the bike paths. Discovering London via its bike paths showed me that it is actually a very beautiful city. I learned that London’s seemingly endless, winding bike paths cover the whole city. I learned this one day when I intended to go on a 60min run, which turned into a 2.5 hour run when I got lost on the paths, and angrily came home to Google map them. So in the end, I found that while London may not be as exciting as Montreal, it actually has many more interesting and picturesque paths to run along.
I also went on a few trips over the past 18 months, but the most noteworthy trips were my two trips to Trinidad and Tobago. Since my family lives in Trinidad, I have visited countless times. I have visited many of the monumental sites and hung around the neighbourhoods near to where my family lives. However, during the two trips I’ve made since I started running, I saw Trinidad in more depth than I ever have before!
My running schedule in Trinidad is slightly different. Some days, I wake up at 4:30am with my Aunt in order to go meet her marathon group for their 5:30am run. They run this early to avoid the sun. Initially, this seemed crazy to me. We don’t meet them every day, so of course, the first moment I had to wake up late (which is about 8:30am), I did it. I went for a 60min run at 9am... and got home at 10:30am. I have never taken so many water breaks during an easy run in my life. So if you ever happen to visit, be ready to make that choice between 4:30am and extreme heat.
I have to tell you about my most memorable run in Trinidad. My friend Gillian from the Concordia team came with me on one of my trips. My aunt and her friend asked us to join them in a run up a hill they sometimes train on. When we started the run, they fussed and worried and warned Gillian and I to take it slow. Gillian and I ignored them, thinking that they must not realize how much hill running our coach has made us do. My aunt and her friend laughed at our overconfidence. The hill was winding so we could not see it getting progressively steeper. About 5 minutes into the run, we realized we needed a 30 second break. We ended up having to alternate running for 2 minutes and resting for 30 seconds for about 2/3 of the hill… then we alternated running for 45 seconds and resting for 30 seconds. 45 minutes later, Gillian and I were dripping sweat as we basically crawled the last few feet to the top of the hill. We were wiped! But at the top of the hill, we cooled down and got to enjoy one of the nicest views of Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad, that I have seen. The hill was so steep that we had to walk fairly slowly on the way back in order to avoid injuries. But we welcomed the break and on our way down, we noticed some mango trees. We climbed the trees and picked a bunch of mangoes to eat on the walk down. They were the freshest mangos I’ve had in my life.Now, just 9 months after living in London, I am graduating and probably moving yet again. I’m not sure where the job market will take me, but I know that wherever I go, running will help me quickly get to know the city, and help me feel at home in no time!"
