Growing the Sport

Sport is a beautiful thing! It allows us to explore our boundaries and discover ways in which to surpass those limitations. And in doing so, we are able to discover so much about ourselves. In sports, we have good days and bad days. And sometimes it is difficult to remember why we put ourselves through so much pain. On Sunday, I was reminded why we push our limits and do the crazy things we do.

Yesterday I was extremely fortunate to be a part of C3’s inspiring, Kinetico Kids of Steel race. The day started off with a fun adult race which included a 400m pool swim, 15km bike and a 5km run, in which I participated. Now my legs were a little beat up from a big 4 hour ride the day before so I thought that I would just go easy. However, as soon as the gun went off, something in me jumped and I started to explore my limits. I had a good swim, and then hit the bike. Once on the bike, I continued to push, to see how fast I could go. My legs screamed for me to stop, but my mind kept saying go. Something inside of me wanted to see what I could do on my incredible new Scott Plasma 5. Could I better my previous best times? Then it was off the bike and on to the run. Now, Andrew Beardshall had started 24 minutes ahead of me, and on my first lap I heard Barrie Shepley say that it would be close. Again, that little voice inside, said go, push. I continued to push through the pain and explore my limits. But why? Why put myself through so much pain for a fun race? It took me a bit to figure out, but then it clicked. It’s fun!

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It’s fun to go out there and challenge yourself. It’s fun to go against an obstacle and try and overcome it. It is a blast to go against other competitors and go to your limit and see where you stack up. It’s fun to have people think that you can’t do something and then you go and smash it, and prove that you can do it. The way I figured this out was by watching all the kids, from 3 to 16 race. These kids are out there enjoying swimming, biking and running. In the swim some of them struggled to finish, but each one continued on and pushed their own limit. On the bike, the kids rolled on (hahaha). At the finish, most kids said that the bike was their favourite part. On the run, you could see the competitiveness coming out, kids chasing down others and trying to be the best they could. One young kid, pushed himself to the point of being ill at the finish line. There was no more that he could give. He left it all out on the race course. That is the beauty of sport. The challenge, the overcoming of limitations and the exploration of being the best you can be. That’s what these kids reminded me. They reminded me that it is fun to go out and play. To challenge yourself. To pretend to be one of your heroes. It was an inspirational day.

Now I have to say congratulations to Barrie Shepley, C3 and Kinetico Water. You did an incredible job promoting sport and active living to all ages on Sunday. You put on a great race for everyone from 3 years old to 60+. The best part about the whole day was that everyone left with a smile... That is the true beauty of sport, it’s fun!

#C3 #ScottPlasma