Trail Sisters *

Every Wednesday night for as long as I can remember (and since some time in the very early eighties in any case), my Mom and about ten other women have gathered weekly from 7 to 10pm. Growing up, I remember falling asleep to the sounds of cups clanking, women chatting and Dorothy H’s raucous laughter...

Forty over Thirty

There are races you dream about, races you plan for…and races that pop into your life relatively unexpectedly. And, of course, each one is special in its own way. My thirtieth birthday present consisted of a weekend in Paris. I guess it was logical then that, a decade later, my fortieth birthday present also involved...

The icing on the cake

My run last Saturday morning began like most of my runs that week: in the cold, in the dark and in the rain. I donned my amazing (pink and black) Uglow waterproof running pants and jacket and headed out, “Même pas peur”, as the French like to say. My goal was to limit the run...

Back in business

The hiatus is officially over. Truth be told, there was never meant to be a hiatus. But sometimes life gets in the way of plans. And work. And running. Or maybe it was work and running that got in the way of other plans… Regardless, here I am, back after an extended end-of-year break –...

Family Ties

For the past four years, I’ve travelled back to my home town of Ottawa, Canada, with my now 5-year old daughter to spend the first half of August with my family. It’s precious time for me and Saskia – and for my parents, too, I like to think, even though we descend upon them like...

The 40km Smile

Let me take a minute to hop off my cloud and tell you about the time I wore a smile for 40km straight. Those who follow this blog will know that I was running one of my two “A” races of the season on Sunday, the 39km Trail des Passerelles du Monteynard. My race was...

Firgun

As I’ve mentioned before, I like to read. A lot. When I’m not running, I even earn my living wielding the written word. So, I always love it when I get the chance to add a new word to my lexicon – and it’s even better when it comes in some trail-related form. That’s why...

Making Friends

This post has been ready for nearly a month now. I was just waiting for the race photos before posting, but I’m not sure they will ever appear… So, since late is better than never – and since I hope to publish the next article relatively soon – here it is:   I posted my...

Joc on the Box

Every once in a while, something unexpected happens to all of us. For me, this moment came mid-May when I found myself standing on the podium after winning 3rd place for women in my age category (23-39 year olds) at the 44km / 1500m of vertical Maratrail race during the Challenge Vallée de la Drôme....

Benvinuta in Corsica – plus a real, live dung beetle!

When our daughter, like all 3-year-olds in France, started school in September 2015, we officially entered a new universe. Here, the school days are long – 8:05am to 4:30pm in our case, plus an extra forty-five minutes at the after-school day-care – and make for tired children come weekends and holidays. The beauty behind these...