It was a windy, wet day on Wednesday for the inaugural Plane Pull for the Elgin-Middlesex United Way.
I was part of a 15 person team. I really enjoyed getting to know new colleagues at Canada Life. We had fun sharing strategies and preparing to be the fastest. Our pull was 10:55 seconds.
15 people whooping it up as they pull a plane.
The winning team was less than 9 seconds!
Why do this stunt? The goal is to show that a small group of people working together can accomplish amazing things.
It’s important to remember that we can take steps to address social problems. It is easy to give in to despair when faced with big problems.
I loved the competition and camaraderie.
Nat smiles at the camera despite the wind and rain.
I am a person who has avoided team sports since early life. As a child, I was often the last person picked for teams due to my exceptionally short stature of 4”10” and a general lack of coordination.
These experiences chipped away at my fledgling self confidence, so as a teenager, I made the decision to participate in individual sports exclusively. This way I didn’t have to concern myself with letting down the team.
One bright spot in my early sporting experience was hitting a tennis ball against the schoolyard wall. At the time, I had good aim and reasonable hand eye coordination.
Fast forward to today, many decades later, I had heard about a sport called Pickleball. I thought it might be a good way to tackle my team sport anxieties, since it only involves teams of two. Besides, two of the ways I find joy in life is to move my body and make new friends and Pickleball is known for meeting both these needs. So, with great enthusiasm, I joined the new Pickleball club in Guelph and enrolled in some group lessons, convinced that joy and renewed confidence in team sport would soon be at hand!
Little did I know that it would also remind me of some important life lessons about self acceptance, humility, and the importance of laughing at myself despite it all.
We played “real games” right from the start of the lessons. For those of you new to the sport, pickleball involve playing with a partner and learning three basic strokes (forehand, backhand and volley), on a court that is shorter than those for other racquet sports. I had bought myself a paddle and attended my first class with optimism. To my great surprise, I had overestimated my ability to land the ball anywhere near my opponent! In fact, getting the ball into any part of the court without someone shouting “OUT” turned out to be a big challenge. Other times, I would swing at the ball and miss it entirely with my opponents mischievously inquiring about the hole in the middle of my paddle. One time I returned the ball and it hit my opponent in the face!
At first, I was able to laugh at these newcomer errors, but as others progressed passed me in skill level, that old feeling of not want to play sports with others returned. I noticed that others who were slower to gain skill were starting to drop out and I considered doing the same thing. Those old feelings of shame and embarrassment I had when I was a child had resurfaced in full force. In fact, soon I found myself warning all of my partners that I was “not very good or even terrible”, before we even got started in the game.
As many sports enthusiasts know, this type of self-deprecating dialogue actually worsens performance and does not cultivate team spirit. Mindset is a big part of success in sport, I knew this from running races. I needed to change my thinking in order to succeed and have fun, but how would I do this when such deep-rooted messaging was at play?
Then an idea dawned on me…to get past my self-defeating thoughts, why don’t I view pickleball as a form of therapy, with strategies that my psychiatric patients learn in treatment?
For instance, I could use some positive affirmations before playing and practice opposite action to the negative thought during the game. I could also view pickleball as a type of exposure therapy to difficult circumstances and perhaps this would help to reduce my anxiety and self consciousness other aspects of my life. And, how about developing some humour, laughing at my wild shots and not take myself seriously? After all, it is just a game and the goal is to get some exercise AND have some fun.
I am happy to report that with an adjusted attitude; I am slowly but surely approaching the game from a new perspective. In fact, this week I took the giant leap of playing in a tournament with 50 other folks at all different skill levels. I lost most of my games, but rather than telling folks I was terrible, I simply advised my partners that I am a beginner while keeping a smile on my face. This in itself helped me to land more shots in the court and actually win a few points. One of the great aspects of the Pickleball culture is to offer positive reinforcement to both teammates and opponents and there was plenty of that at the tournament.
After four hours of “pickleballing”, our team made it to the tournament finals. All the other players were too tired to play, so my partner and I were nominated to play with the best team in the league, with 40 other participants watching! Just before the game, the team captain whispered to me, “just do the best you can” and that stuck with me. I saw him in the crowd smiling and cheering me on and that helped too. Even though we lost the game, folks congratulated us and we were reminded that we were courageous to take on such skilled players.
Changing hard wired messaging is difficult for sure and sometimes I slip backwards, but overall, I am moving forward and I can take some satisfaction from that. This experience has also reminded me of 3 important concepts of sportsmanship and life:
1st: I am much harder on myself than anyone else ever will be and besides, everyone else more concerned about their own game than my playing.
2nd: Forget about what others are thinking, it is likely not as bad as you think and besides, you are not in the schoolyard, you are an adult with coping strategies at hand. And you are here to have fun!
3rd: Through my work, I have learned that one way of defining humility is to remind myself that in life, I am no better or worse than anyone else. Reminding myself of this helps to avoid the tendency towards self centred criticism both on and off the court. I hope to see you all on the court someday for some laughter, exercise and maybe even some personal growth!
Pickleball Ellen
Ellen B., lives in Guelph, Ontario and works as a psychiatric nurse. In her free time, you can find her sailing with her partner or on the court practicing her shots with new friends.
The SkiErg is the first station in a HYROX event. You need to complete 1000m on the SkiErg, which comes after the first 1km run. Following this, you will run a further 7km and complete 7 other functional stations (sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carries, walking lunges and wall balls).
Now I can’t run so there’ll be no HYROX racing in my future, but past me, runner me, would have loved this event.
I love farmer’s carries and sled pushing and pulling.
So I’ve been looking on in envy at this event that’s growing fast in popularity. Sarah and I work with a personal trainer at the fancy gym and he’s doing a HYROX event this fall and is starting to train.
That means he’s starting to incorporate some of the HYROX events into our workouts. (YAY!)
Yesterday it was wall balls and the ski-erg.
I remember wall balls from my CrossFit days.
The ski-erg I’ve done once or twice before knee surgery when I needed upper body cardio. This time Sarah and I had fun racing each other to see how fast we could complete 300 m. We did it twice and came within a few seconds of each other.
It’s fun. Like the rowing machine, it’s the kind of strength plus cardio event I enjoy. Also, technique matters. We’ll definitely do it again.
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?” Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
Recently, I posted here about the inner critic who reminds me not to want too much—a donut, say, or a marathon finish. A friend asked about the donut/marathon analogy. Surely, she said, a marathon involves too much suffering to count as self-indulgence.
Which got me thinking about the problem of women and “too much.” In her excellent book, Monsters, Claire Dederer tackles the question directly, linking it to the problem of women owning their ambition. She recounts a male friend telling her about his very importantbook, a description Dederer goes on to quote for laughs when describing her own work to others. And then Dederer asks, “But, really, what’s so funny about saying your life’s work is important?” She goes on: “Ambition and self-confidence are all bound up together. Ambition is the thing that men have. …It turns out that this is not such an easy word, for women.”
To say, as a woman, “I am ambitious,” is to invite a range of responses, most immediately: “Who do you think you are?” Where, for men, being ambitious might simply signal a desire to do well in a chosen profession or to pursue a goal outside of work that involves challenges and determination, for women, it’s more like naming a character flaw. “Look at me, I am a selfish person. I am willing to make other people suffer so that I can succeed. Because if I’m thinking about myself, I’m not thinking about everyone else.”
Which brings us to the marathon. Ten years ago this month, I bought my first pair of trainers—that is, running shoes for running–in thirty years. I was shopping for a pair of runners for my daughter, home from university for the holidays, and they had a “buy one, get the second pair 50% off” deal on. I decided on my goal right there in the store: to run 5 km. Looking back, this was actually quite a large ambition, because it broke a pattern of twenty years, which involved not taking seriously exercise of any kind. I know there are amazing women out there running marathons in between domestic and work shifts. Me–I would have lost my mind if there had been one more item on my to-do list while I raised two kids and held down a job. But, at fifty, I had more time available. With my new sneakers on, I reclaimed my love of running. And then I wanted it all—the shoes, the watch, the sun glasses, and, a couple of years later, the marathon.
A marathoner cannot hide her ambition. She devotes hours to training. She goes to bed early. She frets, she obsesses, she consults with other runners, she joins a club. She has a plan. She has a goal. She needs to get to the start line uninjured, and then she needs to finish what she’s started.
There’s no pretending that you’re heading out for a jog around the block.
A few weeks ago, as my nephew and I stared down marathons we were about to run, I messaged him, “Remind me again why we sign up for this?” And he replied, “Because sometimes you have to do hard things!” That’s how I define ambition—it’s the desire to do hard things. It can be writing a book, it can be running a marathon, it can be trying something strange or unsettling—like therapy, or not drinking. You slog through the muck of feelings and effort. You quiet the voice that tells you to let it go, that it’s too much. You do the work because you’ve set yourself the task.
Ambition implies forward movement and that can create problems when we don’t allow ourselves to stop or slow down. I hope I can set ambition aside when it isn’t helping me. I’m looking forward to retirement, when I can let go of the ambition I’ve attached to my job. But I have miles to go before I sleep, and I look forward to pursuing new goals.
I went into IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France knowing that the demanding bike ride might make my 5th IRONMAN my slowest, something I found strangely freeing.
While I was nervous, I found myself coming into the day with an approach opposite of what a lot of people would expect at a world championship. Rather than attempt to “leave it all out there”, I went in telling myself that I was just going for a little dip in the ocean and a toodle on my bike in the mountains, followed by an evening jog. 🏃🏽♀️➡️
I had fun in the wavy ocean swim in my wetsuit. I surprised even myself when I was able to hold onto that vibe even as plenty of women passed me on the bike, many huffing and puffing up the mountains on the bike course. I enjoyed passing some of them back on the descents, which were my favourite part of the day. Then, I went into the run and did it my way.
Cheryl on the run leg of the IRONMAN in Nice
At times, I like to experiment and see what happens if I push and dare to blow up. I understand the desire to seek your limits, but in a race as long as an IRONMAN, sometimes that looks like holding yourself back—a skill that takes a lot of self-control and confidence. One of the things I’m most proud of in this sport is the ability to be consistent. This finish at 12:50:21 is in between my other finishing times and perhaps this is the race I feel I did the best job of staying positive and executing the way I wanted to. I strive to stay humble and of course there are things I can improve, but man this one feels good! Don’t worry, though, it still hurt.
I’m so grateful for how things came together, for everyone who wished me luck and tracked me, for @brent315 nailing his support duties and for the community of @teamtrespinas . Yesterday was about celebrating what my body is capable of, enjoying the scenery and saving something so I could not just finish, but finish joyfully.
Cheryl on her tri bike. Zoom zoom!
Cheryl MacLachlan is an endurance athlete, teacher and coach living in London, ON. She is always looking for another bike and loves her dog Walter, books and writing.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” You might have heard it before, but does it have to be the case?
As I load up on my final carbs and tuck in for bed before taking on the challenge of the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France tomorrow, I can’t help but reflect.
It takes bravery to show up to any race, let alone a World Championship. I’m humbled by the women I’ve met here—the one who podiumed at Kona last year, the one who qualified in her first race, the one who’s on her 18th IRONMAN. I’m surrounded by some of the most dedicated and accomplished athletes in the world!
With that—not to mention some of the bikes and shoes and bodies on these women—it’s easy to slip into comparison, wondering if I really belong here. But instead, I’ve been working on using comparison as a source of inspiration, seeing those amazing women I’ll share the course with as examples of what’s possible.
With that, I’ve had practice. I’m so grateful for the impressive female athletes in my life who I call my friends. Their success doesn’t diminish mine, and mine doesn’t diminish theirs. I’ve met some women who can’t train with others who are about the same or “better” than them and my heart breaks for them. There’s a lot of power in celebrating each other and in finding a wolfpack!
On that note, it’s not that I’m not competitive. I want to do my best, and I love a good PR or ranking well just as much as anyone. I really believe that, if we let it, competition brings out the best in us. Isn’t that the whole point? But at the end of the day, only one person gets to win (or one per age group, I suppose). Since the vast majority of the time, we won’t get to be that person, it’s worth considering some alternative ways of relating to competition. I think this would help more of us to step up to that oh-so-intimidating start line.
A student asked me recently, “Are you going to win?” No way, kiddo. But that’s not why I came. I came to see what I can get out of myself, and something tells me tomorrow will provide no shortage of opportunities to find out.
The summer solstice has come and (just) gone; it’s full summer by anyone’s measure. And with its arrival in 2024 have come heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere. Temps in Boston this week were 95-97F (35-36C) with heat indices much higher. In Quebec and Ontario, the heat indices were expected to reach up to 45C (113F). According to the news agency Reuters, more than 100 million Americans were under heat advisories, watches and warnings last Thursday.
It’s cooler this weekend where I live, but other parts of the globe are continuing to suffer from extreme heat. Hundreds of pilgrims traveling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the hajj have died from heat-related causes in temperatures reaching 50C (122F). You can read more about this month’s heat trends in Central America here and Europe here— two of many examples of what is happening as the summer progresses.
Amidst all of this thermal stress, preparation for the 2024 Paris XXXIII Olympic Games continues. The Olympic Games run from 26 June to 11 August. But the organizers aren’t providing air conditioning for the Olympic Village quarters where the athletes reside during the competition. Instead they designed an environmentally sustainable multi-part system with insulation, shutters, cross-ventilation, and a geothermal system pumping cool water through pipes in concrete floors. They promised rooms with maximum evening temperature of 79F (26C).
There are just two problems with this plan.
Problem one: According to lots of research on athletic and general performance (and sleep) in heat, overnight temps of 79F significantly reduce quality of sleep and subsequent performance of all sorts of activities.
The New York Times reported in this article how some enterprising Boston researchers used the natural experiment of a 2016 heat wave to do a study that showed dramatically decreased performance for students in 79F rooms vs. 70F rooms overnight.
“During the hottest days, the students in the un-air-conditioned dorms, where nighttime temperatures averaged 79 degrees, performed significantly worse on the tests they took every morning than the students with A.C., whose rooms stayed a pleasant 71 degrees.
As for athletic performance, this area has been well-studied and the results are clear: increased heat both reduces physical performance levels and endangers athletes who are pushing themselves to peak effort during international competition.
Last Tuesday, a group of athletes, climate scientists and exercise physiologists released a report called “Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics”. In it they explain the serious heat conditions and the threats they impose on athletics competing in this summer’s Olympic Games. They include expert analyses of heat effects on the body along with first-person accounts from international competitors across sports, describing their experiences and the challenges they and their sports face. Here are some of the athletes’ own words:
Jenny Casson – ROWER, CANADA
“I have had to change my training in Canada and train in a “heat chamber” (a vehicle designed to recreate a humidity and heat as desired by the user) to prepare myself for the 40°C heat of summertime racing. On numerous occasions I have been unable to complete sessions and have broken down mentally because physically my body cannot respond any more to the demands a workout is asking of it. I get scared because when my internal body temperature rises too much, I feel as though I cannot breathe and that is a very worrisome state to be in. I’ve felt suffocated because often the air is so heavy it is a challenge to get it in. I am still worried for what those experiences did to my body and the long term effects. Looking back on it now, I think it was dangerous and my body was responding to a very real fear of overheating.”
Eliza McCartney – POLE VAULT, NEW ZEALAND
“I was told once I had experienced heat illness, it was likely to come on more readily next time, and that was a problem for not only my training camp in Cyprus, but the thought of how I would handle the upcoming major competitions that were in hot places (Doha and Tokyo). It was both a physical and psychological concern. Another consideration is safety – I use a black sticky grip that loses its adhesion with sweat. I’ve had issues (as well as other vaulters) with slipping on the pole in high humidity and heat.”
Pragnya Mohan– TRIATHLON, INDIA
“Triathlon is a very intensive sport and heat enhances the amount of energy required. This leads to severe dehydration resulting in cramps, and in some cases can also be fatal. For this reason, athletes need to train in such conditions because it can lead to adverse effects if your body is not used to it. From April to October the temperature in India is very hot so all outdoor training must finish by 8am. The rest of the training is indoors. It is very difficult to train in a country like India where we have tropical weather. I have to stick to Europe for training.
When you are dehydrated, the brain stops functioning at its normal speed. This affects the time required to make decisions impacting reflexes. For example, during cycling you have a few milliseconds to decide to either draft or break away or apply any other race strategy. Hence performance suffers.
This gets us to Problem two, which Pragyna Mohan’s story highlights. She said that she has to train in Europe during the hottest parts of the Indian calendar year; she can’t safely train there past 8am. Thousands of athletes who live in countries where temperatures rise past safe limits for sleeping, ordinary activity and athletic training face a terrible dilemma: either get funding for training in cooler climes, or try to develop in their sport under conditions at best suboptimal for performance and at worst life-threatening. Inequity in access to safe training conditions creates large disparities in individual performances and development of sports in less well-resourced countries experiencing the effects of climate change.
Which gets us back to Paris and the non-air-conditioned lodgings in the Olympic Village. In response to the sustainable athlete dormitory plan, a number of wealthy countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Denmark (so far), are BYOAC-ing– bringing their own air conditioners. The Washington Post in this story added that many other countries plan to buy AC units in France for their athletes.
But not all the athletes will be able to rest, eat and sleep in artificially cool comfort. This from the Post:
“We don’t have deep pockets,” said Donald Rukare, a lawyer who is president of the Uganda Olympic Committee. Rukare mentioned a sweltering international sports competition in Turkey a few years ago, where athletes stayed in rooms without air-conditioning. Some federations shipped in portable units; Uganda did not. “Because we didn’t have the money,” he said.
It makes sense that the Paris design committee wanted to showcase sustainable design and engineering for the Olympic Village. And if summer temperatures don’t rise beyond what is normally predicted– about 79F (26C), there isn’t much to worry about. But, Paris has experienced numerous extreme heat waves in recent years, including four in 2023 that left more than 5000 people dead. 2024 is looking to be as hot or hotter. So you do the thermal math.
What I hope is that the International Olympic Committee will work with wealthier nations and organizations to make sure that all the Olympic athletes get equal access to a good night’s sleep and a cool place to rest and prepare for the the culmination of their life’s work. Otherwise, it’s just another hot and inequitable playing field.
🎧 I just read on my friend Todd’s social media that Lael Wilcox is about to try to beat Jenny Graham’s world record for cycling around the world (124 days / 11 hours) and is doing a podcast at the same time.
“This summer, I’m riding around the world to try and break the women’s Guinness World Record (currently held by Jenny Graham at 124 days). I have to ride a minimum of 18,000 miles (29,000km). The route isn’t set and that’s part of the fun! I asked Bea & Luca, expert route builders and race organizers, to design my track through Europe. In this episode, we go over the rules and talk about the route. I don’t love planning, but every time I look at a map, I’m filled with excitement for the big ride! I’m starting on May 26 in Chicago and I’ll be publishing an episode every day– 10-20 minutes to share stories from the road. “
“The findings showed that Gen Z were the most sociable cyclists, too. They were the most likely to seek company on bike rides, and it was mainly them that contributed to an 11% increase in the number of new online communities, and virtual ‘cycling clubs’.
See, as a young, plus-sized woman who cycles mainly for pleasure, I’ve never felt like I belonged on cycle lanes. I felt too young, too fat, too poor.
I felt that I had to have permission to belong – be a certain age, or level of fitness. That I had to be ‘training’ for something, have the right gear, or take cycling seriously as a sport – not merely as an escape, a means to an end, or to get to work.
Even former Olympic and World Champion, Chris Boardman MBE told Cycling Weekly that he’d been “battered by the cycling community for wearing normal clothes on a bike”.
It’s gatekeeping of the highest, most gross order.
So, I couldn’t be more elated, or more refreshed, to hear that Gen Z-ers are simply shrugging their shoulders at stereotypes, and getting on their bikes instead – complete with their friends right alongside them.
They’re choosing an activity that they enjoy, and that makes them feel good – all while saving money, the planet and being sociable.
Cycling aligns with their values because they’ve created an inspiring, eco-conscious community (both online, and IRL) that they believe in, and feel represented by. They’ve managed to embody everything that makes cycling great – and it’s what it should be. “
📺 And a shameless personal plug here on what to watch this weekend. I’m recommending you check out Sew Fierce. It’s a Canadian reality show, a drag design competition, in which eight clothing designers compete to make the best drag outfits. Season Two is just out on OUT-TV but you can watch the first episode on YouTube. My middle kid’s partner is Calypso Cosmic, one of the eight top drag designers on Season Two of the show. Go check out their fabulous creations!
Sew Fierce, Season Two
You can also watch Calypso live and in person, with other performers, at The Well in Hamilton this weekend.
I was a proud “Dickie Chick.” One of a threesome of sisters, with a dad named Dick, who participated relay-style in the 70.3 Ironman in Muskoka in 2017. One sister swam the 1.9k, the other sister biked the 90k, and I ran the 21.1k. (That’s me on the right.)
The Dickie Chicks. Janet is on the right.
I remember flying past runners who were doing the full slog, calling out “just doing the relay” so they wouldn’t feel bad. As beaten up as they looked, I was strangely envious of their extra sweat, grime and grit. Fleetingly.
Running prevailed and I started to get serious about it. I raced for personal bests and prizes and bought a Garmin. About a year ago, I noticed my runs were turning into countdowns: 9k to go, 6k, 5k, 4k, 3k, 2k, done.I was also getting unnecessarily anxious before races, even before speed workouts. (Ridiculous!)
A few months ago, my oldest son announced a goal to do the Muskoka 70.3 Ironman to mark his 40th birthday.
And there it was—that fleeting feeling from seven years ago. Me? An Ironman? The feeling started to linger. It started to grow.
I did some research, talked to a few experts. Before long, I’d gone way past doing the 70.3 in cottage country at age 64. I was fantasizing about being at the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Spain on November 8, 2025, at age 65.
I kept things to myself. I was afraid that if the words came out of my mouth, I’d be committed.
Uncertainty swept in. I hadn’t swum lengths in four decades, not to mention my childhood trauma over cold water.
In a bold moment, I called a personal coach—Ryan Power, as good as they come. I was surprised he was keen to take on a 65-year-old female novice. You know what he said? He said that he’s currently working with seven athletes right now and two are over age 75.
Well then.
He said that an equivalent to qualifying for the world tri championships is qualifying for the Boston marathon, which I’ve done twice.
Well then.
It’s in the cards, I said to myself. I was ready to let it out of the bag. Now I’m committed.
What has gotten into me? I prefer simplicity. What can be more complicated than a triathlon watch, or a fuel plan to sustain 8 hours of work?
I don’t really like spending money. In the last 20 days, I have spent at least $2.5k, and according to Austrian triathlete, Clément, I can expect to spend another $3k to get myself geared up for competition, and then $2.9k in every year to follow. (Not including things like Spain.)
A bike covered in tri gear.
Worst of all, I can’t figure out the leg action to clip out of the pedals on my new road bike.
“You’ll want to clip out with your right leg,” said the bike specialist, “so you can lean away from the traffic.”
But my right leg wasn’t working. Forget the traffic, I thought, I’m using my left.
Last week was my first official week of training. Don’t tell Ryan, but after day one, I had a stiff back. After day three, I had a bruised elbow from banging the lane ropes. And on day five, I added a scraped knee to the old bod from tipping over on my bike. (I’d clipped out—yay—but forgot to use the brakes.)
It’s week two. I can hardly wait to get going again.
Will I make it to Spain? I have no idea. But I like picturing myself crossing the finish line. If that gives me joy and motivation and a good reason to hop out of bed every morning, then why not try. Anyway, I’m 64; I can do whatever I want.
Is that the point of this endeavour? That I’ve reached the age where I can do whatever I want? Let’s think about this.
I cannot get too excited and talk about my new hobby too much or people will think I’m bragging. No one likes a braggart. Humility is the much-preferred trait, especially in the family I married into.
I cannot let myself get too exhausted. Yawning through social gatherings is equally as unattractive as bragging. And I need energy to continue baking bread, concocting hummus, and creating grandkids’ birthday cakes (another source of joy).
I cannot let my new hobby negatively impact my 42-year marriage. I cannot consume our travel budget around races; I cannot get too obsessed because that’s hard to live with; I cannot cram the drying rack with any more workout clothes; I cannot let this interfere with happy family traditions; and I certainly cannot expect a cozy night on the couch livestreaming tri championships. It’s not golf, after all.
The cannots add up, and they’re hard; I think about them all the time. But I cannot not do this or I’d be short-changing myself on something my gut is telling me to go for. Who cares if I get a little excited, exhausted and obsessed? It’s nothing that a new drying rack can’t fix. Or a glass of wine in Spain.
Lots of athletic wear on a clothes drying rack.
Janet Tufts’ bio
With over 30 years of local, national and international experience in the non-profit and public sectors, Janet is currently enjoying semi-retirement, balancing a part-time role as Executive Director of Operation Walk Canada with her love of reading, writing, baking and moving. Previously, Janet served as the Executive Director of both Big Brothers Big Sisters of London and Area and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
From 2016 to 2018, Janet spent two years in Malaysia as a member of a multi-cultural team that led the government’s implementation of their blueprint for public school transformation. Janet holds a Master’s in Business Administration, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Arts, and a Professional Certificate in Communications and Public Relations. She has served as a director on numerous boards, and is currently a board member of St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Janet embraces any opportunity to be part of a humanitarian mission and to date, has been to Southern Sudan, Peru and Ecuador.
Hey y’all– in case you’re in need of some happy, joyful, positive news today: look no further. Meet Jolien Boumkwo, Belgian shot-putter and all-around good egg. She literally embodied the spirit of teamwork on Saturday at the European Championships in Track and Field. How did she do this? By winning her shot-putting competition? Nope. She finished seventh, which is excellent. But no, it wasn’t that.
Boumkwo ran the hurdles race even though she is not a hurdler, but in fact a shot putter (completely different skillsets, I’m told). Why did she do it? Because: a) no one else on her team was available (due to injuries); and b) they needed someone in the race in order: b1) not to get disqualified from continued competition; and b2) get one point for their team in the hopes of not getting relegated from Division 1.
So Boumkwo did it. Here is the race. Watch it; you’ll be glad you did.
An amazing moment at the European Team Championships 🔥
Belgium's Anne Zagré was going to run the 100m hurdles but got injured 🇧🇪
So shot putter (with every point counting) Jolien Boumkwo stepped in at the last minute and this was the result 🤯pic.twitter.com/2V7l3P2lBh
Shot putter Jolien Boumkwo, running carefully and powerfully over hurdles on her way to a team point for Belgium.
I love it that she’s tall enough basically to step over the hurdles and that she’s being careful not to get injured. It’s also nice (and appropriate) that she got high fives and handshakes from some of the other hurders after the race.
For contrast, here’s what Boumkwo doing what she’s trained to do.
I came across the story in the New York Times, and of course the commenters had plenty to say. The comments were about equally divided between congratulations and thanks to her for demonstrating the spirit of teamwork, and shared anecdotes of cases where folks substituted in a not-their-sport competition and took one for the team. There were high jumpers who tried pole vaulting, hurdlers who tried relay races, swimmers who tried diving, and so on. They all said it gave them an appreciation for others’ talent and a feeling of team unity.
Or course there was one crabby person who said Boumkwo’s performance was embarrassing. Naturally, the rest of us piled on, replying that they were quite mistaken. Here’s what I added:
Her team needed someone in the race to get a point, and she volunteered (obviously with the approval of her coaches). It was heartening to see her, a champion athlete in her own right, put her ego aside to move safely and strongly through the race on behalf of her team. It wasn’t embarrassing– not to her, not to her competitors, not to her team, not to me, and not to other sports fans. It was joyful, smile-inducing, and inspiring in the best ways.
I assume you agree, FIFI readers?
Have I missed any other heroes this week? Let us know. Or tell us about your favorite moments of team participation.
🏃🏽♀️➡️
I surprised even myself when I was able to hold onto that vibe even as plenty of women passed me on the bike, many huffing and puffing up the mountains on the bike course. I enjoyed passing some of them back on the descents, which were my favourite part of the day. 
Then, I went into the run and did it my way. 
. Yesterday was about celebrating what my body is capable of, enjoying the scenery and saving something so I could not just finish, but finish joyfully. 
