I returned to Ottawa in August 2008 following a very difficult separation from my now ex-husband. I was blessed with a passion for running and heard about the Army Run through the RCMP, my place of employment. Without hesitation, I signed up to partake in the very 1st Army Run and have taken part in every Army Run since. The Army Run is the run that turned my life around and made me realize how blessed I am to be healthy and fit and able to run long distances and motivate others to do the same. Thank you to the Army Run Organizers, Volunteers, our Canadian Military and their families for opening my eyes to all the blessings that surround me.

I’m running in the Army Run half marathon for the challenge, and because I’m a huge supporter of our military. There are three reasons it will be a challenge for me: it will be my first half marathon, as you can see in the picture I broke my foot on a training run and have spent the first 4 months of 2012 in a cast, and I’m over 50 years old. The injury’s been a setback, but I’m determined to make the Army run regardless, followed up by the Marine Corps Marathon in October.

My participation began with a call from our Commanding Officer to give this a try. Well, it gets you thinking: Army Run?, but I’m in the Air Force. As I found out during my first attempt at it (2010), that that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make any difference if you’re Army, Navy, Air Force or in the reserves – or even if you serve at all. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man, a woman, a boy or a girl. All that matters is what is in your heart.

We call those things by many names: Respect, Inspiration, Courage, Hope. In that order they spell RICH. If you’re rich in heart, you have what it takes to succeed at a great many things in life. This Run is one of those things.

Like many people here, I run for those who can’t. Some I know, like my father (25 years service) who died of lung cancer 21 years ago, for his father who fought in both World Wars and for MCpl Anthony Klumpenhouwer who came home by way of the Highway of Heroes. Most I don’t know, but I know something of their courage and dedication to making this world a better place for others.

I want to give a tip of the hat to a good friend. Tim MacDonald started weight-watchers in February and by July had achieved his goal to lose 50 pounds. The result was he ran his first ever half-marathon in the 2010 Army Run. He told me after the Run “A year ago this would have been impossible.” Having seen some of his drive and ambition during our training runs, and a successful completion of the half, well I was quite proud of his achievement. Back when we were thinking about signing up (Tim had never run that far and my only other half marathon had been 11 years prior!) I joked to Tim “If you sign up, I’ll think about it!” Of course that was meaningless: I was pretty much committed to doing it anyway… I just wanted some company! Thanks for being there, Tim!

I run because I can. When I get tired, I remember those who can’t run, what they’d give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them. I know they would do the same for me.

Running is my PASSION. Training brings DISCIPLINE to my life and over time the sport has helped grow my character, fostering both my physical and emotional STRENGTH.

I began running in 2003, competing my first-ever 10K race. 2009 brought triathlon-ing to my life and 2010 my first half marathon. As I gradually increased my mileage, I realized how fortunate I am to be able to pursue this sport, my passion.

I dedicated my last training and racing season to going the distance for those who can’t … in support of fundraising for research and programs for persons with Multiple Sclerosis.

My best friend, Ray, is an MS patient. He was diagnosed in 2003 and began running in 2006. He has raced every distance from 5K to 42.2K, but his greatest accomplishment to date was completing Ironman Canada in August 2010 in support of Race4MS.

His love of the sport runs deep, as does his commitment to fighting MS. He noted, “MS stops people from moving and I hope to prove it will not stop me.”

I run to support him and the fight to help keep those with MS moving.

This year we ran for my husband, Tim Lyttle, currently deployed overseas in the middle-east.

We also ran in memory of our friend and fellow runner, Anthony Klumpenhower, who passed away while serving in Afghanistan in 2007.

I am a PhD student in War Studies at the Royal Military College. This was my second half-marathon and first time participating in the Army Run. I am the daughter of a former CF member and ran today as a tribute to injured soldiers and all military families. I absolutely loved the race and will definitely be participating again next year!

I am dedicating my run in the 2011 Army Run to all our injured soldiers
- especially the so called “walking wounded” whose injuries are not
always immediately apparent.

In particular though, I will be running in the memory of my late
common-law husband Master Corporal Randy Murphy. Randy fell victim to
suicide on January 24, 2009 at the young age of 37. His 19 year career
in the CF as a medic involved many overseas deployments including a
mission to Rwanda during the genocide of 1994, in addition to missions
to Bosnia and Afghanistan among others.

In this post-Afghanistan era, the coming years will bring about an
unprecedented wave of deployment-related mental health related illnesses
such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Many of
our soldiers will battle their inner demons as a result of things they
have seen and done, and the decisions they’ve had to make, while serving
abroad.

When I lace up my running shoes this Sunday those soldiers currently
suffering from mental health related issues will be heavy on my mind.
Most of all though, I will be remembering Randy and the many sacrifices
he made throughout his career in selfless service to his country. I
will never forget.

I run the Canada Army Run for many reasons.

My late father, John Allen Hay, was a Second World War veteran. He fought overseas with the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders regiment and was one of those who landed on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. Growing up I was always fascinated by this and I developed a deep appreciation for his role in the military. I grew up observing Remembrance Days, something I do to this very day. It wouldn’t be right not to do so. As a youngster, I used to revisit WW2 in scrapbooks of memorabilia my mother had saved. Even though both my parents have since passed away, I still possess my late dad’s kit bag, including his meagre pay book, photos and letters he carried throughout the war, and a tattered pocket Bible, which he probably, no doubt, referenced too many times to count.

Each and every Remembrance Day, I continue to wear his Balmoral cap to the local cenotaph in his honour.

Although soldiers, including my dad, are usually very reluctant to discuss what they’d endured, one of the things he jokingly never minded telling me about were those 20-mile hikes in full army gear and pack sack. Many times I have drawn upon these stories to help me through what I’d perceive to be a difficult run, no matter how short or long it was. I figure, if he could do it with that distance and weight on his back, I can do a fraction of it with my little running gear and nice comfy shoes. So I run the Canada Army Run for my late dad.

In 1983 I graduated from Queen’s University, in Kingston. As a student there, I came to be friends with many Royal Military College students. Some of them have gone on to lead Canada’s military, while others suffered seriously debilitating injuries. Today, I have friends whose sons and daughters are serving overseas, and others who’ve lost children fighting in places like Afghanistan, including Sgt. Marc Leger, of the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Sgt. Leger, 29, was killed during the friendly fire incident at Tarnak Farms, Afghanistan, in 2002. I have still other friends who’ve left their own young families at home in Canada, while they’ve served our country overseas. So I run the Army Run for those I’ve known in the military, or for the loved ones of friends.

In 2005, as a reporter then for the Standard-Freeholder newspaper in Cornwall, Ontario, I had the great pleasure to accompany 11 local S, D & G Highlanders overseas to Holland and Belgium. During this all-too-brief trip, the regiment was being honoured for their service in Zuphen, Holland during the closing days of WW2. This was a tremendous honour to cover these festivities, especially as they were representative of my late father’s regiment. In return, the regiment presented me with a plaque for my coverage, and that I was “A Glen at Heart.” So I run the Canada Army Run for the S, D & G Highlanders.

I think back to my participation in last year’s event in Ottawa. Running friends had told me much of the spirit of the Army Run, the enthusiasm, the depth of appreciation by our troops and, of course, the nifty dog tag finisher’s medal. I think of the canon-shot start, scenic beauty of the run, the troops standing roadside throughout it, and the wonderful patriotism it inspires in everyone, whether they’re pounding the pavement or cheering participants from the sidelines.

I think of the troops the run helps to assist, their families, the core of Canadian military, its past, present and its future. And I know why I run the Canada Army Run.

I run to survive. Initially diagnosed with PTSD (I choose to use the term battle fatigue) in the fall of 2009 following physical and mental collapse after two tours in Afghanistan, I began to run as a form of mental health therapy. Today, my mental well being is closely linked to my daily runs.

I ran my first half-marathon, the Army 1/2 in September 2010, the week prior to my medical release from the Canadian Forces. Running, along with my involvement with Project Healing Waters (*www.projecthealingwaters.ca), sustains me during my dark periods.

This year I’m running in memory of those soldiers who have lost their personal battles against the ‘Black Dog’.

I’m an RCAF veteran (1957-1964) fighter control operator/public affairs specialist. My father was in North Africa during WW II and the Battle of Ortona, Italy. His brother, my uncle, helped liberate Holland from the Nazis.

I went to Afghanistan to visit my son in 2004, where he was a field operative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and saw first-hand the desperation of the people we were trying to help.

I believe in our military and its missions, at home and abroad.

I have four terminal cancers but am celebrating my second year as a participant in the Army Run.

I hope to be around next year for a third run. It’s important to the things I believe in and to my country.

Per Ardua ad Astra!