ONE RUNNER'S STORY:

A Rocky Road To Running Success - MDI Runner Erica Dion

In her first season with Marathon Dynamics, Erica successively completed not one, but two marathons, and qualified for the 2009 Boston Marathon, which she ran in 3:38.  She is a popular and enthusiastic part of the MDI team, and we are very proud of her!

Why I Run - Erica Dion

Since joining Marathon Dynamics last year, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know my coach on a more personal level. He shared a story with me about how growing up, running played a significant role in his life, helping him cope with a very challenging family situation (click here to reference that story).

Every runner has reasons for enjoying the sport, but for some of us, running is so much more than just sport or exercise. Like my coach, I also share a deep-rooted emotional connection to running; one that will always keep me coming back for more.

I was always an active kid growing up, despite the sedentary lifestyle of my parents.  I was social, confident, did well in school, and was involved in every club and team imaginable. But when I started high school, something changed.
 
After school, my routine was to head home, grab an “Ah Caramel” from the cupboard, and watch TV. One particular day on the way to my room, I paused to look in the hall mirror.  Suddenly I was flooded with opinions of myself that I’d never had before.  Thoughts like “you are fat and disgusting! Keep eating those cakes and you are well on your way to being as lazy and overweight as your parents!” From that moment forward, I vowed never to become overweight. But my commitment developed into an extreme fear of gaining weight, and quickly became an unhealthy obsession with restrictive dieting and intense exercise.

Living close to school, I would “come home for lunch”, but instead of eating, I jumped rope until it was time to go back to class. I spent hours researching calories and nutrients. Controlling food consumed my life, to the point where I withdrew from social situations that involved eating. My thoughts were so warped I was convinced that all my friends and family were constantly trying to make me consume fattening foods. I refused to eat meals that I didn’t prepare myself or supervise. Within a year, I had dropped below 90 lbs with barely any body fat.
 
One day after school I was running around my high school track, and a teacher approached me. He was one of the Track and Field coaches. “I see you out here often,” he commented. “You should join the track team!” 
“Oh, I don’t know about that, I’m not very fast. I don’t think I would be good enough.” I replied
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you train to get faster. Just come give it a try and see what you think”.  I thought it through and decided to try it out. After all, more running could only help me keep thin.
At my first practice I met the middle distance coach and the other runners. They were all seniors and really fast, but very friendly and encouraging.
As the first invitational track meet approached, I became extremely nervous about competing. I was just there to burn calories, and never thought about racing. I didn’t want to race, but the coach convinced me I was well prepared and good enough to compete.
So there I was at the start line of my first 1500 metre race. It was a small track meet consisting of local schools, so there were only about five girls lined up. The one beside me was tall and fit. “What’s your best time?” she asked me.
“I’ve never run before. I’m really nervous. What’s your time?” I replied.
“6:05. I’d really like to get under 6 minutes today. And don’t worry, you’ll do great” she told me. I had no idea if 6 minutes was a good time, but it sounded intimidating.

    The gun went off and away we went. After the first lap, I was still with the tall girl. In fact, we were in the front of the pack! “I can do this! I’m not going to be last!” I thought. After the second lap, I had a lot of energy, and took off out in front. My lead just got bigger for the last 2 laps, and I crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 5:45. I was in shock that I had won the race. “Maybe I’m not so bad at this running thing” I thought. And for the first time in a long time, I was proud to be me. 

By the end of the season, I had made Ontario Regional’s and was only a few spots away from qualifying for the All Ontario’s in the 3000 metre. I had a rejuvenated confidence in myself, and during that season, my weight returned to semi-healthy state. Things were far from normal, but they were a lot better. I realized that in order to do well, I needed to give my body the energy it needed.  I kept running into the cross-country season and ran track again in the spring. Running became an important part of my life. It was something I could control that was both challenging and rewarding, and I had made many great friendships and memories.

I’m fortunate to be in a position finally, where I’m not embarrassed to share my story.  Running had a huge impact on my self-esteem as a teenager and continues to instill confidence in me.  I hope that other girls can learn from my experience, and find that thing, whether it be running or otherwise, that surrounds them with positive people and makes them feel good about who they are and what they can accomplish.