Getting up to speed with Christine Blanchette

Blanchette has been teaching courses at UBC for almost three years. This will be her seventh year as a Sun Run clinic coordinator. She’s successfully coached runners at every level, from beginner to marathoner.

However, it’s her imperfect beginnings that I found most impressive.

Blanchette admits that she wasn’t always a disciplined runner. She took up the sport after years of minimal athleticism.

“I wasn’t even into fitness,” she said. “I was always picked last for teams.”

With a friend’s encouragement, Blanchette began running in 1999. Soon after, she graduated from five kilometre races to half marathons. She ran the Boston Marathon in 2005.

She is proof that the past doesn’t always dictate the future.

In fact, Blanchette has encountered many amateurs who have gone on to conquer running.

“I’ve had people [in my class] who have never ran before,” she said. “You see them grow. It’s a wonderful thing.”

This is good news for novice runners. There might be hope for me after all.

Stay tuned for this Thursday’s post when I blog about Blanchette’s tips for running success.