Line up:
Georgina Spring Fling - May 3
Kawartha Sun Run Half Marathon - June 14
Georgina Marathon and Half Marathon - September 13
Oakville 21.2K Half Marathon - October 4
Register here: https://www.enduranceeventproductions.com/
01/09/2026
"Take My Mind off the Pain"
Ali Williams has been documenting her quest to run Valencia in under 4-hours. The marathon, as we all know, has its own ideas. For a riveting race story relatable to all, read about managing the race day mental game by Ali here: https://irun.ca/community/take-my-mind-off-the-pain-marathoning-in-valencia/
01/08/2026
🚨🎙 Podcast Drop!
Is your mental game keeping up with your physical training? ⚡️
On the latest episode of the Athletics Ontario Running Podcast, they sit down with the incredible Dr. Sasha Gollish () to go behind the scenes of her new project, Unstoppable.
This isn’t just a book—it’s a mental performance training journal designed to help youth athletes (and performers of all ages!) build the resilience, focus, and confidence needed to navigate the highs and lows of sport.
Sasha opens up about:
✨ Why she created the tools she wished she had as a young athlete.
✨ The power of inclusive, gender-neutral language in sports resources.
✨ How to handle identity shifts when injury takes you off the track.
It’s time to stop guessing and start reflecting. 📓
Physical gains are great, but mental gains are what make you truly unstoppable.
Would you train with a digital twin for your next marathon? According to Futurist Bill Quinn, that technology is available. iRun Editor Ben Kaplan speaks to Bill about concrete roads that provide energy return and cups of water that disappear, in the article: The Future of Racing is Here https://irun.ca/community/the-future-of-racing-is-here/
01/05/2026
Episode 204 with Eric D'Arcy of Crazy Cat Adventures
Ready to test your limits? Athletics Ontario host John Shep sit down with Race Director Eric D'Arcy to unveil The Ribbon 200. Launching June 2026, this is a wilderness odyssey from the Blue Mountains to the Caledon Hills.
The breakdown:
✅ The Distance: 200-Mile Out-and-Back (or 100-Mile Point-to-Point).
✅ The Terrain: A punishing 24,000 ft of elevation on the Bruce Trail.
✅ The Challenge: The "White Blaze" Rule—navigation only, no flags.
✅ The Cutoff: 100 hours to survive.
We go deeper than just the miles.
Eric provides a transparent look at the real costs of a 5-day event—from sleep stations to park fees—and how this race actively funds Bruce Trail conservation.
New Year, new parenting goals? You are not alone.
Balancing training, family life, and the digital age is a constant marathon!
This week on the Athletics Ontario Running Podcast, host John Shep sits down for a must-listen deep dive with renowned expert Jennifer Kolari, founder of Connected Parenting ().🎧
In This Episode, they tackle:
🧠 The "Substitute Frontal Lobe": Your vital role in helping kids regulate those big emotions.
🛑 Commitment vs. Quitting: What to do when your child wants to drop a sport or activity mid-season.
🎮 The Digital Battleground: Practical strategies for managing screen time, video games, and parenting in the digital age.
🥇 Guilt-Free Training: Permission-giving advice for busy parents on prioritizing your own runs without the guilt.
Jennifer even reveals how she uses running as a key form of self-care and meditation to recharge in nature!
Whether you are logging miles or managing meltdowns, this episode is your toolkit for a more connected family life. Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/athletics-ontario-running-podcast/id1607376732?i=1000743403746
12/19/2025
Congratulations to M.A. Dubreuil for winning the final prize from MEC for participating in the annual Golden Sneaker survey. This wraps up the awards, we thank everybody for sharing their thoughts and experiences with running.
May the wind me on your back!
12/19/2025
Run home for the holidays in fresh foam, or give the gift of comfort with max-cushioned styles like the Hurricane 25.
For more information, click here: https://www.saucony.com/CA/en_CA/home
From fleeing war in the former Yugoslavia to becoming a pillar of the Kitchener-Waterloo running community, Jovica Savic (aka Yatzi) has a story that will stop you in your tracks.
When Yatzi saw his neighbours suffering through the severe Canadian winter without shelter, he didn't just feel sympathy—he felt a call to action. Inspired by the refuge Canada gave his family, he rallied the local community for a massive 51.9km ultra-marathon to support .
In their latest episode, they dive deep into:
✨ Finding stability and hope in Ontario.
✨ The power of running for a "charitable why."
✨ Why the best fuel isn't carbs—it's purpose.
Meet the Face of High Performance and Fair Play
In selecting our runner of the year, we think about fair play and performance, but also each runner's impact on the sport we love. This year, no one did more for sneakers than 14-year-old Sawyer Nicholson, who we photographed exclusively with Santa.
Read and smile here: https://irun.ca/community/why-sawyer-nicholson-at-14-is-the-2025-irun-runner-of-the-year/
📸 credit
12/17/2025
All I Want for Christmas is a New Pair of Shoes!
Karen Kwan isn't only a marathon runner who BQ'ed this year, she's also the preeminent fashionista of our time, with an eye for comfort, trends and design. Here, she presents an exhaustive list of gifts for every runner you love (including yourself).
See her recommendations here: https://irun.ca/nutrition/38-gifts-for-every-runner-you-love/
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More than a million Canadians are runners, making it this country’s most popular recreational and fitness activity. Canadians run for exercise and we run to raise money for important causes. We run alone and in groups. And every year, hundreds of thousands of us participate in organized races, from fun runs to marathons, which are growing steadily.
Until now, Canadian runners haven’t had our own running magazine. But now, there’s iRun, providing a uniquely Canadian perspective on the activity and the sport. Published six times a year, iRun educates, informs and inspires Canadian runners. And, behind our parent company Sportstats, the largest race timing company in the world, iRun has become the ultimate running celebration, in mobile, print, social media and at irun.ca.
Marc Roy, CEO, Sportstats
iRun because there’s only 24-hours in a day.
A triathlete and 2x Ironman finisher, Roy purchased Sportstats with his wife Isabelle Fradette in 1995, and transformed the Ottawa-based company into the largest race-timing institution in the world. A father of three, and diehard Senators fan, Roy has recently expanded his company abroad, with new offices opened in San Diego, Utah, Thailand, and Singapore. He recently oversaw a major re-launch of the Sportstats website at sportstats.ca, which holds data of more than six million athletes. He vows to run another Ironman soon.
Mark Sutcliffe, Group Publisher
iRun for a better life
Few people in Canada have written, broadcast, or talked more about running and the runner’s experience than Mark Sutcliffe. It started when he turned his passion for running into a weekly column in the Ottawa Citizen, then he launched iRun and the weekly iRun radio show and podcast. He has since written three books about running: Why I Run, Canada’s Magnificent Marathon and Long Road to Boston. Mark has completed 25 marathons and raised more than $200,000 for charity through his running. In addition to iRun, Mark has also launched several other publications, including the Ottawa Business Journal and the Kitchissippi Times. Mark hosts a daily talk show on 1310 NEWS in Ottawa and also appears regularly on Rogers TV and CPAC.
More on Mark via whyirun.ca
Ray Zahab, Runner-in-Chief
iRun because I can’t stop!!! I love it too much
A former pack-a-day smoker, Ray transformed his life and became an ultra-distance runner, winning some of the world’s most challenging foot races. Beginning in November 2006, Ray and two other runners ran 7500km across the Sahara Desert in 111 days, averaging 70 kilometres per day without a single day’s rest. Since then, Ray has completed numerous running expeditions all over the world, including unsupported 650km run across Siberia’s Lake Baikal in winter, a 1200km run the length of the Atacama Desert and a crossing of Death Valley off-road. In 2008, he founded impossible2Possible (i2P), an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, and inclusion and participation in expeditions. At no cost to schools or participating youth, i2P has taken Youth Ambassadors on expeditions to Amazon, Sahara, Bolivia and more.
In addition to his running adventures, Ray co-hosts iRun: The Running Show on The TSN 1200 radio. He also speaks around the world at events such as TED, IOC World Conference, Idea City, The Economist World in 2010 and 2011, World Affairs Council and countless other events- spreading the message that we are all capable of the extraordinary in our lives and that in fact, the impossible is possible.
Find out more about Ray’s Impossible to Possible http://impossible2possible.com
Ben Kaplan, General Manager
iRun because I like being free
Author of Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now, and former running columnist for the National Post, Kaplan joined iRun in December, 2014, and has since collected twelve new pairs of running shoes. A former editor at GQ and New York magazines, Kaplan also taught a year-long running clinic at Toronto’s Black Toe Running and took a group of people from the couch to the marathon. A frequent guest on radio and TV, Kaplan has appeared on Global’s Morning Show, Steven and Chris on CBC, and Metro Morning with Matt Galloway.
Anna Lee Boschetto, Managing Editor
iRun because it challenges and changes me.
A health and wellness writer, Boschetto has been a part of the iRun team since 2013. Previously an editor with Oxygen and Clean Eating magazines, she has also contributed to Parents Canada, Elevate and Canadian Living. Boschetto has also facilitated community running groups for York Region residents.
