Peggy Skinner
Peggy Skinner taking advantage of some great March weather!
(larger version)
I've always been pretty athletic, playing softball and volleyball in my teen years; I also ran a bit of track but was not seriously into running. It wasn't cool in the seventies to be a "jogger," at least not in Happy Valley, Labrador. In my twenties I did a lot of aerobics, because that was the craze in the eighties, and I worked out to stay slim and in shape.
When I was in my thirties, my Mom had a heart attack and fortunately, survived and is a very healthy 72 year old today. It was that event which started me on my path to healthy living. Mom needed to exercise and I started walking the bike trail with her. I soon realized that I was very competitive and progressed quickly into speed walking. There was nothing I liked better than starting far behind somebody who was walking, catching them and passing them. It wasn't about making anybody feel bad, it was about the high of competition and I loved it. When there were no other walkers around, I competed with myself to get faster times every day.
To further satisfy my competitive nature, I signed up for the Dome Mountain Run and trained myself for months before the race. I would drive to the start line, speed walk up to the top of the mountain, improving my time everyday, my goal being to finish in under an hour. It was exhilarating. At the Dome Mountain Run in 1996, I placed first in the walkers, beating out all the big, strong military men. There was no trophy at the finish line, no recognition, nobody knew who I was, but it didn't matter, I knew. There was no better feeling than competing in that race and accomplishing my goal of finishing in less than an hour. I was, and still am, my biggest competitor.
After that race I decided to try my hand at running. I had just moved to St. John's and had heard about the Tely Ten, an annual ten mile race. Again I trained myself, running at night around my neighbourhood. It was so amazing to me how I could train my body to go from struggling to run a mile to going out and popping off an easy eight mile run. I easily completed the ten mile race, not pushing myself, just wanting to finish. I breezed through the finish line mid-pack, with not a soul there to cheer me on, and with no ride back to the start line where I had left my vehicle. Again, there was no trophy, no recognition, other than my name in the paper along with 800 other runners. It didn't matter, I felt like I had won an Olympic Gold. I had the bug. My goal then became to run a marathon before I turned 40.
Soon after that race I moved to Kelowna, BC. It was much more challenging to run there as I lived in a very hilly neighbourhood. I was soon running ten miles of mostly hills, and decided to register for the annual Okanagan Marathon. I was 40, it was time. Training was easy after all the hill work I had done. In July, I took a week off to get married. The marathon was in October and training was going great. On my return, I went for an evening run, feeling good, but running in the dark, I stepped into a pothole and sprained my ankle. I figured no big deal, I can still run, but to my dismay I could not. That sprain took months to heal and I wasn't able to complete my training, putting my dream on hold.
Not long after that we moved overseas, and kept moving. Throughout the moves, I ran on and off sporadically, with the dream of a marathon still inside me, but with something always happening to put it on hold for another year. I have since moved back home to Labrador, single and out of shape, not having run in over a year. When, lo and behold, I discover that there is a running club, and an annual marathon. How perfect! What better place to fulfill my dream of running a marathon than here in my home of Labrador.
That dream of running a marathon before I was 40 has now changed to running a marathon at age 51, which is what I will be when I run this marathon on October 9th. I have always been an all or nothing kind of girl, and maybe some people would start with a half-marathon, but not me, I'm going for the gusto. Running the Labrador Trapline Marathon will be my Olympic moment. I will be there no matter what. I won't be the fastest, but I will finish, running at my own full tilt. And the best part is, while there may not be a trophy at the finish line, there will be lots of family and friends cheering me on, as I finally achieve my dream.
When I was in my thirties, my Mom had a heart attack and fortunately, survived and is a very healthy 72 year old today. It was that event which started me on my path to healthy living. Mom needed to exercise and I started walking the bike trail with her. I soon realized that I was very competitive and progressed quickly into speed walking. There was nothing I liked better than starting far behind somebody who was walking, catching them and passing them. It wasn't about making anybody feel bad, it was about the high of competition and I loved it. When there were no other walkers around, I competed with myself to get faster times every day.
To further satisfy my competitive nature, I signed up for the Dome Mountain Run and trained myself for months before the race. I would drive to the start line, speed walk up to the top of the mountain, improving my time everyday, my goal being to finish in under an hour. It was exhilarating. At the Dome Mountain Run in 1996, I placed first in the walkers, beating out all the big, strong military men. There was no trophy at the finish line, no recognition, nobody knew who I was, but it didn't matter, I knew. There was no better feeling than competing in that race and accomplishing my goal of finishing in less than an hour. I was, and still am, my biggest competitor.
After that race I decided to try my hand at running. I had just moved to St. John's and had heard about the Tely Ten, an annual ten mile race. Again I trained myself, running at night around my neighbourhood. It was so amazing to me how I could train my body to go from struggling to run a mile to going out and popping off an easy eight mile run. I easily completed the ten mile race, not pushing myself, just wanting to finish. I breezed through the finish line mid-pack, with not a soul there to cheer me on, and with no ride back to the start line where I had left my vehicle. Again, there was no trophy, no recognition, other than my name in the paper along with 800 other runners. It didn't matter, I felt like I had won an Olympic Gold. I had the bug. My goal then became to run a marathon before I turned 40.
Soon after that race I moved to Kelowna, BC. It was much more challenging to run there as I lived in a very hilly neighbourhood. I was soon running ten miles of mostly hills, and decided to register for the annual Okanagan Marathon. I was 40, it was time. Training was easy after all the hill work I had done. In July, I took a week off to get married. The marathon was in October and training was going great. On my return, I went for an evening run, feeling good, but running in the dark, I stepped into a pothole and sprained my ankle. I figured no big deal, I can still run, but to my dismay I could not. That sprain took months to heal and I wasn't able to complete my training, putting my dream on hold.
Not long after that we moved overseas, and kept moving. Throughout the moves, I ran on and off sporadically, with the dream of a marathon still inside me, but with something always happening to put it on hold for another year. I have since moved back home to Labrador, single and out of shape, not having run in over a year. When, lo and behold, I discover that there is a running club, and an annual marathon. How perfect! What better place to fulfill my dream of running a marathon than here in my home of Labrador.
That dream of running a marathon before I was 40 has now changed to running a marathon at age 51, which is what I will be when I run this marathon on October 9th. I have always been an all or nothing kind of girl, and maybe some people would start with a half-marathon, but not me, I'm going for the gusto. Running the Labrador Trapline Marathon will be my Olympic moment. I will be there no matter what. I won't be the fastest, but I will finish, running at my own full tilt. And the best part is, while there may not be a trophy at the finish line, there will be lots of family and friends cheering me on, as I finally achieve my dream.