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Brainsport Times July. 01, 2015

Happy Canada Day everyone! A reminder there will be no run club this evening, so enjoy your celebrations and hopefully fit in a nice run!

Last week we congratulated our colleague Jamie Epp on his induction into the Saskatoon Sports Hall Fame in track and field — cross country. This week we thought it would be fun to have a chat with him about the induction, his running career, and his work at Brainsport.

During his time as a member of the U of S track team Jamie won the 1,500 metre Canadian university championship three times and the 3,000 metre once. Jamie also won the university championship in cross country twice and was twice runner-up. 

Q&A with Jamie Epp

Tara: It's a huge honour to be inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame. What was your reaction when you heard the news?

Jamie: I was actually quite surprised. When I started running this is never something I ever thought would happen to me. Many of the athletes that have been inducted before me are Olympians, or professional athletes and I have always looked up to athletes like this, and I never thought I would be included in the same company as them.

Tara: You earned several national championships as a Huskie. At what point in your running career did you realize you had a chance at being a national champion? And what kind of work went into achieving your goals?

Jamie: In the fall of 1998 I qualified for my first national team, but it still had not sunk in that I could compete with the best in the country. It was not until my second year of university and about 5KM into the 10KM Canadian university cross-country championships that I started to believe that I could compete with the best in Canada. There was a lot of hard work in becoming the National Champion and consistently being able to compete with the best. I had to sacrifice a lot of social time with my friends, and put in hours and hours of training. A typical week was about 100 miles of running, and running 10 times per week over 6 days (I still needed to have a full day off to properly recover from the intensity of training). 

july 1 2015 Jamie competing at the 1999 World Cross Country Championship.

Tara: You're in charge of all the team orders at Brainsport. How do you think your collegiate experience on a team plays into the role you now play at the store?

Jamie: My experiences have helped me a lot because I have been to many different events and level of events (from international competitions to small local events), and I have seen what other events and groups have done with their clothing. With this experience I also think like an athlete on how they want the product to fit and where logo's should be located. As an example on a track singlet a smaller logo is usually better because when competing you wear a race number and a large logo would be covered up by this number. 

Tara: You're very involved with coaching youth. What inspired you to get involved? And for those who don't know where are you coaching?

Jamie: I got involved with coaching because I was starting to get burnt out from competing at a high level and I still wanted to be involved with track and field. I got a lot out of the sport — friends, an education, many life lessons— and I wanted to give back to the sport and give kids the same experiences and opportunities as I had in the sport. I'm currently coaching the U of S Huskies Cross Country team in the fall, and for the rest of the year I coach with Saskatoon Track and Field Club in the Midget age category (13 and 14-year-olds). 

Tara: If there were one piece of advice you'd pass on to young runners looking to make it at the college level, what would that be?

Jamie: This is actually the easiest question to answer. This advice will work for athletes of any age and in any sport. Have fun! To make it to the college level you have to train hard and be smart with the training— not too much mileage at a young age or you will be burnt out— but you also have to enjoy the racing and training. From when I started to train (was coached by Dan Andrews and Judy Warick) at the age of 15 to now with coaching I have always had fun with it. 

Upcoming Events:

Trans Canada Trek
On July 10 walk or run 1K, 5K or 10K in support of upgrading the Eastend Trans Canada Trail! Click on the poster for more information:

jun10 2

River Run Classic
Register now for the Ernst & Young River Run Classic on July 12. You can run a half marathon, 10K or 5K run or walk.


Tri-Unity Challenge
This event held at Pasquia Park, between Carrot River and Arborfield, on August 8 has something for everyone — from pre-schoolers right on up to those looking to run a half-marathon!


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Click on the poster or check out the website for more information:http://www.tri-unity.ca.

Frank Dunn Triathlon
The 34th Frank Dunn Triathlon is being held in Waskesiu on August 9. This is Western Canada's oldest triathlon. For more information and to register visit
www.frankdunntriathlon.ca.

Miles for Smiles
Support the Saskatchewan Children's Hospital Foundation at the 12th Annual Miles for Smiles on September 12. There's a 2.5K fun run, a 5K walk/run and a 10K run. For more information visit
http://miles4smiles.usask.ca/.

Melfort Multi-k
The 5th Annual Melfort Multi-k get's underway September 19. This event was named by Canadian Running Magazine as one of the Top 10 Fall Races to attend in Canada last year!

jun24 3 There's a distance for everyone: Scotiabank 1K Fun Run Free for 150 kids 10 and under. 5K and 10K walk/run and 21.1 K run.


Congratulations
Before we wrap it up congratulations to everyone who participated in the Subaru Triathlon over the weekend — you braved the heat and got it done!

Thanks for reading the Times this week . . .gotta run . . . Tara

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Brainsport Times July. 15, 2015

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