Two of UNBs Finest X-Country Runners…..

This week I’d like to showcase two athletes who I have had the pleasure of training with.   Both were respective captains of their squads during the time they spent at UNB.  Carla is now at Med School in Kingston and Chris is just finishing up his Masters in Geomatics.   First up Chris…

Your Name: Chris Gairns

Place of Residence (Halifax, NS…): Fredericton, NB

What type of athlete are you: Endurance

Favorite Discipline:  Run

Years Doing These Disciplines: First raced in 2001, but not seriously until 2004

Favorite Meal: Post-workout re-fueling session

Favorite Band: Green Day

Biggest Accomplishment: So far: finishing my Master’s Degree in Geomatics Engineering (still not quite done, but the end is near…)

Most Memorable Event: 2004 Atlantic University Cross-Country Championships, only because it’s the hardest I’ve ever raced and I made huge gains from the previous year.  I have since ran much faster, but nothing has been quite as satisfying as that day.

Best Workout: 3 x 3k tempo runs along the green in Fredericton.

Best Vacation Site: California Baby!

Something That Someone Wouldn’t Expect To Hear About You: Terrified of sunken underwater vessels…..bodes well for a triathlete eh?  I once saw a submerged canoe while training and I just about had a heart attack, haha.

Dream Job: Anything related to sports

 Worst Job You Have Had: Working retail American Eagle….I don’t care about clothes or have an opinion if they fit or look good or even know how to fold them  properly…

Worst Day of Racing: 2007 Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 - stillhaven’t figured out exactly what happened, just a REALLY bad day.  Swim was really good but as soon as I got on the bike, I knew something was wrong.  I spent the 90k ride trying to feel better, but nothing helped and I suffered horribly on the run, which was more like a 21k crawl. But, I finished anyway and snagged a spot for Worlds.

Any Advice For Future Athletes: Enjoy yourself and the amazing people you will meet.  Take pride in your accompishments and improvements.

Your Name: Carla Murphy

Place of Residence: Fredericton, NB

What type of athlete are you: Runner (5km specialty)

 Favorite Discipline: oh I don’t know…the Run

Years Doing These Disciplines: I’ve been running competitively for almost 4 years

Favorite Meal: homemade macaroni and cheese (gross I know)

Favorite Band: Depends. For training: dancing, Beyonce.  For relaxing: Joni Mitchell or Ben Harper

Biggest Accomplishment: Getting in to Med School

Most Memorable Event: AUS my first year running XC. It was the first time I realized what it meant to really give it my all in a race.

Best Workout: 1 km repeats. It helps me decide what my race pace should be.

Best Vacation Site: PEI. My family is from there, and there is nothing like a few days on the beach and relaxing with people who could care less about training.

Dream Job: Pediatric Oncologist, or a Pussycat doll. It’s a toss up really

Worst Job You Have Had: I haven’t really had any bad jobs, guess I’m lucky.

Worst Day of Racing: Third year running AUS. I was so mentally psyched for the race and I talked myself through the first 2.5 km, but I couldn’t get my legs to respond after that. I ran my slowest time in two years that day and I have never been more devastated (about racing at least).

Any Advice For Future Athletes: Take care of your body. From injury to illness, I know what it means to ignore your body, keep pushing, and end up at rock bottom. Not that it is the end of the world, I usually came back stronger than before, but it was a lot of extra work - mentally and physically.