Linda Wong

I Wasn't Always a Runner. Part 1.

By InnerVoice

August 3^rd, 2016

My mother died when I was 21.

My parents immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1976 - I was 4 months old, the youngest of 4 kids. My parents weren‘t highly educated, but they worked hard. The focus was always on providing for us and paying off their mortgage, not unlike many parents of that generation. Our family was close, but not affectionate. When my parents had vacation time, we either went to Victoria to visit my aunt, or they just stayed home and worked on the house or the garden.

It wasn’t until my mother was sick that my parents finally went on their first couple of real vacations. My mother died when I was 21. We were given 2 years after she was diagnosed and she passed 4 months later. The immediate impact was as expected for anyone who loses a parent at a young age. I felt a responsibility to make sure my dad was okay, so my personal grieving was suppressed. My mom‘s funeral was the first time I had ever seen him cry - something that’s burned into my memory. That day forever changed my dad, as it has the rest of us. His outlook on life has changed, often telling me to not work so hard and to focus on my health - a change in priorities from what he had role-modeled.

There’s a photo of my parents on my fridge and they’re being silly and laughing. That’s what I want. That’s what I aspire to be. Everything that picture encapsulates is my life goal.

I was unhappy, extremely insecure, and lacked confidence.

There were a myriad of factors that led me to running, and ultimately, trail ultramarathons. I was never an athlete growing up — the opposite actually. My family focused on academics only, and athletics were a low priority. There were high expectations around education and I rebelled in my own way. I chose not to go to university, but rather, to technical school studying civil engineering. I started smoking. Between working 2 jobs, going to school but not loving the content, and maintaining a long-distance relationship, I cracked. I left my life behind and moved to Ontario to pursue my relationship. Work eventually took me from Ontario to Alberta, and in between, my mother was diagnosed. Grief took its toll on my health and I crested in and around 100 pounds. Shortly after, my relationship suffered and I moved back to BC to be around my friends and family.

When I got back to BC I started a job at a tech company when things started to change. I ended my relationship and met someone new. I quit smoking. The company president became my mentor; she helped me deal with my grief and taught me about self-awareness. My manager was also a huge influenced in my life — she taught me about work ethic, pushing me to be better, not just for the company but for myself. The self-awareness exercises helped me realize things about myself: I was unhappy, extremely insecure, and lacked confidence.

She was also an avid runner.

“His outlook on life has changed, often telling me to not work so hard and to focus on my health - a change in priorities from what he had role-modeled.”

I made the decision that my next race would be a 5k, because 10k was just too much!

The company then entered a Sun Run team and with the encouragement and guidance of both my president and manager, I started running. The Sun Run was my first race and I made all sorts of rookie mistakes that resulted in rookie injuries. When all was said and done, I had about 3 weeks of running before the race. This was a time before the Sun Run had timing chips, so I had an analog watch on my wrist to keep my time. I think I crossed the line in 75 minutes, give or take. I felt awful. I grabbed brunch with some friends after the race, went home, showered, and fell into my bed. I woke up 13 hours later, in the middle of the night, completely disoriented. I was sore from head to toe – so sore that when I got out of my bed, I fell back in from the shock of the sheer pain I was in. After I recovered, my manager convinced me to do another 10k.

That also didn’t feel great, so I made the decision that my next race would be a 5k, because 10k was just too much!

The more they accepted me, the more I wanted to give back.

I ended up racing a lot of road races and met someone from Lions Gate Road Runners who invited me to their workout. I was intimidated. I had seen people like them at the races – they were fast and they were hardcore. They had their own singlets. I somehow mustered up the courage to join their workout.

I parked my car on the side street by the track about half hour before their workout. I almost went home, but I didn’t. I said to myself that this would be the one thing I would do for the betterment of myself. So I got out of the car and went to the track. I didn’t see the man that invited me but the group was encouraging. Little did I know that the man who invited me was often late to the workouts. Even while they were lapping me, everyone was extremely nice. Two weeks after officially joining the club, I was asked to join one of their relay teams.

For me, this was a huge springboard into really being in the running community and feeling accepted. I was welcomed, supported, and encouraged by all the club members. I ended up taking on a leadership role within the club – it was a positive snowball effect. The more they accepted me, the more I wanted to give back.

It actually paved the way for me to quit my job and pursue a full-time career in events. I knew what it was like to be a brand new runner and getting to the start line is hard work. I felt it was my job to celebrate that success at the event…to be continued.