NL

Kate Bazeley trains for marathons, takes baby along for a run

An elite long-distance runner on Newfoundland's west coast trains every day, rain or shine, and takes her baby daughter along for the ride.
Kate and Peter Bazeley take their one-year-old daughter Amelia with them in the stroller when they head out on their daily 20-kilometre run. (CBC)

An elite long-distance runner on Newfoundland's west coast trains every day, rain or shine, and takes her baby daughter along for the ride.

Kate Bazeley has competed in numerous marathons, and this year was the first woman to cross the finish line in the Tely 10 in St. John's.

Now, as Bazeley trains for upcoming competitions in the fall, she and her husband Peter Bazeley take their 1-year-old daughter Amelia along the running trail in her stroller.
Kate Bazeley says the often-rough weather conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador have made her a tougher runner, able to withstand various adverse conditions. (CBC)

"We usually try to schedule it … mid-morning and stuff it's usually it's around her nap, so when she's in the stroller she can nap a bit because sometimes if she's awake the whole time it's a bit long," Bazeley said.

Bazeley said living in the province and training outdoors in the often less-than-stellar weather conditions has, if anything, made her a better runner.

"We get a lot of wind and we get a lot of weather, but I think it makes you tough. When I go away to these races I kind of hope for bad conditions because mentally, I think that I might have an edge if the weather's bad," she said.

The Bazeley family head out every day, in all kinds of weather, for a 20-kilometre run, scheduled around nap time and Peter Bazeley's work schedule.

He said it's a lot harder to maintain a running schedule since the family moved from St. John's to the wooded area around Humber Village.

"The motivation is a bit harder when it's just two people trying to get out all the time. We don't have any family out here or anything so it's just the two of us - I do a lot of pushing the stroller," he said.

Bazeley will be lacing up her sneakers to compete in an upcoming marathon in Corner Brook, as part of her training for the National 10K Championships in Ottawa in two weeks, as well as the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October.