Is running having a moment? From our Blue Mountains edition, an examination of a resurgent sport in Ontario and beyond.
words :: Leslie Anthony
An old Latin phrase, solvitur ambulando—“it is solved by walking”—owes itself to a mic-drop moment by the ancient Greek philosopher, Diogenes, who found himself debating someone who believed motion to be illusory and impossible to prove if the moments you examined it in were small enough. After listening to his opponent’s reasoning, Diogenes simply got up and walked away—a demonstration that mooted the pointless paradox.
In the millennia since, the expression has been co-opted by everyone from Darwin to the Dalai Lama as a stand-in for the idea that movement aids cognition. Need to sort through a problem or clear your head? Go for a walk—or a run.
I’ve keened to this adage my entire writing career, craving both motion and leitmotif of forest or field after long days on the laptop. I’ve experienced revelations while running that echo others’ descriptions of ideas coming to them in dreams—figuring out the way into a flummoxing story, or a lightbulb going off on the elusive ending to a book. I’m out there for the head health, but the cardiovascular benefits are a welcome bonus. As it turns out, everyone who runs has their own reasons; what we all share, however, is that more and more of us are doing it.
I’m out there for the head health, but the cardiovascular benefits are a welcome bonus.
Though running’s popularity has ebbed and flowed over the decades, its overall trajectory has been up, the most significant inflections tracking events or new technology. In recent years, the pandemic brought many to running as gym-free fitness and a cure for boredom at the same time advances in high-performance footwear were enhancing the experience. Related tech like GPS watches and fitness apps have been turbocharged by social media lifestyle platforms, with #running accumulating over 100 million posts on Instagram and half a billion on TikTok. And rail-to-trail conversions and rabid backcountry trail-building have increased running’s available real estate. With more people than ever taking it up, running is clearly part of the zeitgeist. One undeniable metric is the number of run clubs popping up.
“There’s a group for any interest and ability,” says Caitlin Foisy, founder of Collingwood Runners. “Many start with people who see a need—like ‘I can only run on Monday evenings’ kind of thing. So they start a club and put it out on social media. I have friends who’ve started ‘dry’ run clubs [no post-run beer] and groups for people of colour or socio-economic status—safe spaces for those excluded from other areas.”
Unlike many runners (a recent UK survey found most take it up in their 30s and 40s), Foisy’s life has been all things running from the get-go. She remembers her father training for the Boston Marathon and has photos of herself running a 1k as a 5-year-old. No surprise she ran throughout high school and made both Cross Country and Track & Field teams at Queen’s University. “That’s where I realized you actually have to train to do well,” she recalls. “Later I moved west for work as a bike-tour guide but always did trail races to explore where I was living in a way you can’t from a car or bike.”
For Foisy, running is both stress relief and a way to burn energy. “It’s a great way to test yourself or just go really casual,” she says. “There are so many ways to switch things up, it’s hard to get bored.”
Collingwood Runners looks to create more running and racing opportunities locally so people don’t have to travel so far, whether beginners, those looking for elevated coaching experiences, or just community. “A lot of my friends are moms, and the only time we see each other outside family stuff is running,” says Foisy, now juggling life with three kids. “I’m grateful the sport has brought these people into my life.”
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This aspect of connection is voiced by many runners. “Almost all the friends I have here I’ve met through run club,” says Mark Bechtel, who, with brother Sean, owns VO2 Sports Co, Collingwood’s running ground-zero. Launched as a multi-sport shop in 2019, VO2 morphed into a running store due to both demand and opportunity. “Initially we had a bit of cycling but Covid messed up supply and the bike industry is so up-and-down we decided to focus on running,” adds Bechtel.
Naturally, they started a run club. And again, Covid had other ideas. Resurrected after lockdown as a more casual meet-and-run than structured workout, the club took off among young folk, drawing 50–60 on a Wednesday night. “Clubs are a big social thing,” notes Bechtel of how type-B fun can still ignite a passion. “But once you get past the hump of going for a run and not thinking you’re going to die every time, there’s not much money to invest, either.”
Eventually, the club spawned a popular race—the Collingwood 10K. “The organizer of a previous race left town so there was a hole and we dove in,” says Bechtel. Each installment has sold out: 300 in 2023, 500 in 2024, on pace for 600 this October. There’s also a kids’ fun run that sees participants receive a t-shirt and medal. “This year we brought in a local sponsor to offset costs and keep it free,” says Bechtel.
If clubs are the corpus of the running community, races like the Collingwood 10K are its lifeblood. With 40 per cent of participants from out of town, such events also demonstrate how, befitting their mien, runners also like to travel. Enthusing on her favourite races, for instance, Foisy not only waxes local, but drops the Rev & Run, a 5K held on the closed Honda Indy racetrack in Toronto only hours after drivers have vacated. “It’s one of Canada’s most unique races,” she says. “Amazing vibes and also a fundraiser for the Parkdale food bank.”
Running in general may be staging a moment, but its hayseed cousin, trail running, has mounted a breakout performance. A perennial favourite is the Falling Water Trail Marathon/Half-Marathon, held on the Beaver Valley section of the Bruce Trail and featuring waterfalls, steep climbs, scenic views and abundant post-hoc “harder than expected” commentary. It was the first event that Kimberley resident Jayar La Fontaine found his way to when his daily 5k walks morphed into 10k maintenance runs after listening to an audiobook of Haruki Murakami’s memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. “It was inspiration to actually run the route. And then suddenly I was going out more often and for longer,” recalls La Fontaine.
With last year’s marathon falling on his birthday, a friend nudged him into training for it. He’d never raced, didn’t have a coach, but stuck diligently to the schedule, diet regimen and getting the right gear—waypoints of the all-consuming obsession running can become. Which happened fast for La Fontaine. “After Falling Water, I was in shape so I did five more trail races—short ultras of 50–58k—chaining them together with a two-week gap between each. I wasn’t entering to win but it was fun to compete with top finishers, who are clearly a different species of human, and see where you’re at compared to what they’re capable of.”
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Putting yourself out there all starts with your first race. Also within striking distance are two popular late-October races on the Maitland Trail—The Bad Thing, with point-to-point 25k and 50k options, and The Night Thing, where headlamp-adorned runners experience how coyotes and raccoons see the world. The biggest of the bunch, however, is the Summit 700 at Blue Mountain Resort.
The race grew out of The North Face Endurance Challenge that first came to the resort just over a decade ago, fueling local interest in the sport. “It was like a big-city marathon in trail-run format,” recalls Bob Miller. When The North Face series ended in 2017, Miller had been the local contact, sorting volunteers and working on courses. Conversations with counterparts in the Blue Mountain Resort events department led him to inaugurate the Summit 700 in 2018, since held annually in July on the resort’s extensive singletrack network.
The number 700 refers to the climb in feet up the Niagara Escarpment that each 5k, 10k and 21k course delivers—in addition to a trail-runner’s usual catnip of rocks, roots, creeks and forest. “We try our best to provide the same experience as the North Face event but without the same budget. Still, there’s a great post-race atmosphere in the Village at the finish,” says Miller.
Now approaching 1,000 entrants, in addition to the traditional distances run on loops, 2025 also saw a new point-to-point 50k. “When we started, 80 per cent of participants did the shorter distances, but that changed over time and this year’s 50k was a real highlight, with over 100 runners bussed to a remote starting line,” he says. “As an athlete, my favourite missions were always those that made me feel I was going somewhere.”
While a great experience for runners, the behind-the-scenes vibe of a big event can be trying for organizers. On a top-10 list of the most-stressful jobs—a litany that includes wildfire fighters—you’ll also find event director. “It’s like putting together all the pieces for a multi-day adventure tour but for just a single day,” says Miller.
“It’s like putting together all the pieces for a multi-day adventure tour but for just a single day.”
And there’s more: Alicia Tone founded Collingwood’s Run For Her, a fundraiser for ovarian cancer. Beginning as a solo half-marathon in 2020, for which she elicited $1,800 in support, Tone has quickly grown Run for Her to a multi-distance trail-race, education and advocacy initiative, collaborating with local businesses and the patient community. All $70,000 raised to date has gone directly to Ovarian Cancer Canada.
Not only are more boutique and focused run events seeing growth, but also splinter sports like “canicross”—cross-country running with dogs where runners utilize hands-free equipment that allows the dog to run in front and pull them along while they give commands. Mono resident Shawn Sobon is behind Canadian Canicross Sports, which holds racing events including the Trails & Tails Classic, Muddy Paw and Snowy Paws.
In the end, the running world all devolves back to community. No matter the type of event, unifying themes include how mid- and back-of-the-packers are celebrated with the same enthusiasm as frontrunners, and tacit acknowledgement that running can be an integral part of someone’s journey through personal challenge. At races, cheerers-on are often spotted holding signs saying things like Therapy Was Also an Option.
“Every race is a microcosm of life, and each teaches me something new about myself,” says La Fontaine. “Distance runners say when you’re feeling awful—like nothing’s working, your body feels like it’s going to fall apart, and you’re in a negative mental place—just wait a few kilometres and everything might turn around. I’ve experienced that, too.”
You know, solvitur ambulando.
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