By Sarah Jamieson, ACE, YT, FMS 2

The last 10km is a metaphor for life, a metaphor for stepping outside your own comfort zones and investing in the bigger picture. It’s also a metaphor for success, a metaphor for the human spirit. On March 8th I endured to walk/run 100km, my first ever 1ookm event and it was one of great success! 4 months ago I set out with a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to spearhead a campaign for CARE, one of the leading humanitarian organizations in Canada for the celebration of 100 years of International Women’s Day.

Now, my last 10km was actually at the 64km – 74km mark, needless to say I didn’t make the full 100km, but I did achieve what I set out to do – and that was to bring awareness to CARE Canada and their featured programs geared towards women’s empowerment. Each step was a reminder of what women living in poverty must undergo every day for clean water, basic healthcare and basic life necessities for their families. This was the backbone of our cause.

“Education, local capacity building and sustained economic growth, are critical to fighting poverty in developing countries. Women and girls hold the key. Walk In Her Shoes has the potential to unlock the hope and optimism towards sustained economic opportunities. This March, as Canadians WE have the chance to bring to the forefront of our time, the direct impact we can make by investing in and empowering all girls to transform their world; by mobilizing them to engage in cultural exchange, gain a global perspective, and create and lead social change.”

As a Movement and Performance Coach, Yoga Teacher and Elevate Me! eater, I understand the complexities an event of this magnitude calls for; the specific periodization and skill training involved, the hours of corrective strategy and re-patterning to ensure proper bio mechanics, and not mention the nutritional aspect of a 12 hour event, which Elevate Me! played a large role. Fast tracking my own training to only 7 weeks lead up time I feel I did my very best! Thankfully, the 10 years of marathon running and Yoga built a great foundation!

I am a proud athlete, calculating well over 750 km, 77,733,300 steps over the 7 week span.At the end of it all, we raised close to $5,000. We had over 45 people out along the Vancouver route, many students and community patrons! Walk In Her Shoes was a success globally, thousands of women walked 8,000 (6km) between March 2 – March 8th for CARE Canada.

This is a great example of ‘The Sports Philanthropy Movement’; where athletes and local companies within the health and wellness industry come together and use their skills for a global effort.

Sarah M. Jamieson
Athlete Ambassador & Marketing Team
Movement & Performance Coach and YogaFORM Teacher

As a member of the Esteem Team role model program, I encourage youth to pursue a healthy lifestyle and follow their dreams. I am now 28 years old, and following my own dream of representing Canada at the 2011 Nordic World Championship.

I am also an ambassador for the non-profit Fast and Female, which seeks to empower girls through sport, and work for the organization at events throughout the year.

 I am full time cross country ski athlete, which involves training twice a day, six days a week, eleven months of the year.  I currently reside in Canmore in order to have access to the top training facilities and coaches.  I maintain a rigorous training regime of 650 hours a year and travel to over 20 races throughout the winter.  I spend a lot of my time training and racing in ski competitions all over Canada, and the US and sometimes in Europe and Asia.  Sport is a big part of my life.  But sport can’t be all of life, so I also earned a degree from the University of Calgary in International Relations and Development Studies.  Since I graduated from University, in my time between workouts, I practise yoga and am working on a course in creative writing.

 I grew up in the Northwest Territories of Canada, in a small and isolated community called Fort Smith, near Wood Buffalo National Park.  Throughout school, I played many sports: soccer, volleyball, track and field.  My main sport was cross country skiing.  I went on to compete, as it provided a wonderful opportunity to travel and meet like minded young people from outside of my small town.  Training was often a challenge, as the weather was bitterly cold, the winters were mostly dark, and I trained alone on trails that were only groomed occasionally.  I was driven to improve and loved being outdoors.  I started off competing in Arctic Winter Games, I moved on to become a medallist at Canada Winter Games and at the Junior National Championships.  I competed for Canada at the World Junior Championships in 1999.  I was one of two women representing Canada at the Under 23 World Championships.  I was the first NWT skier since the four time Olympians, Sharon and Shirley Firth, to represent Canada at a Nordic World Championship, while in Sapporo, Japan in February 2007. 

 As a member of the Esteem Team role model program, I encourage youth to pursue a healthy lifestyle and follow their dreams.  I am also an ambassador for the non-profit Fast and Female, which seeks to empower girls through sport, and volunteer for the organization at events throughout the year.  I am now a full time athlete.   My goal is to qualify for the 2010 Olympics and 2010 World Cup competition. 

 Highlights of my racing career include qualifying for the 2008 Canmore World Cup with a convincing Nor Am victory in December 2007.  I placed 19^th out of 60 competitors from 21 nations at the Canmore freestyle sprint World Cup in January 2008.  This was my first World Cup appearance and my strong result qualified me for a six nation European World Cup tour with the Canadian Team.  I finished the season ranking 2^nd in the final standings for the Canadian season long sprint series and I was named to the National Ski Team in 2008-2009. 

My proudest achievement in skiing is not the medals or the placings I have earned but the discipline I have learned that is required to train at this level and constantly push myself to improve.  My dedication to sport has been tested with a number of health problems and injuries.  I have undergone two surgeries on my legs, the most recent one in March 2009.  My ability to persevere through these challenges makes me confident that the lessons learned through sport will be of great value in the rest of my life.  My passion for sport comes from the challenge of always finding new ways to improve, and seeing how the confidence fostered from sport can change the lives of young people. 

My next race is the Canadian Olympic Trials December 19-22, 2009.  I’m in the middle of working on my goals of reaching the 2010 Olympics and World Cup competitions.  I look forward to keeping you all up to date on my goals, and training and stories from the road.  Training is something I’ve come to love and hope you too find the sport that drives your passion.

Until next time,

Sarah Daitch

Road to Vancouver 2010