why they run: motives are deeply personal for the 20,000 calgary marathon participants
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a runner collapses after crossing the finish line of the servus credit union calgary marathon on may 25, 2025.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
when shikara fahie, 27, ran her first half-marathon last year, she surprised herself.
“i never thought of myself as being able to run a half marathon,” she said. “so i said, why limit myself?”
this year, the speech pathologist is making good on a bucket list promise she made to herself years ago — run a full marathon before she turns 30.
when asked how she’d be feeling at the start line on sunday, she replied, “there’ll be lots of excitement.”
“i really hope i don’t have to go to the bathroom right away,” she added with a chuckle.
this weekend fahie and 20,000 calgarians will position themselves to do what many others abhor from the comfort their couches — run the 42-kilometre servus calgary marathon.
for those just ambitious but still building up their stamina and fitness, there are also the 21-km half marathon, and 10-km and five-km races.
the shorter races will be held saturday, while the half marathon and full marathon will occur on sunday.
postmedia spoke to some of the participants ready to sweat it on the streets this weekend. here’s what they had to say.
thousands took part in last year’s servus credit union calgary marathon.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
shikara fahie, 27
like many others, fahie sought out running as a stress-reliever during the covid-19 pandemic.
“it was an escape for me,” she said, during a time when everyone was forced to hole up inside. over time, she began to set goals for herself when she laced up her sneakers.
“i liked the idea of (trying) to run an 8k, a 10k, a 15k,” she said. “and then i did my first half-marathon and that was just a lot of fun.”
for someone who had only moved to calgary four years ago, running also became a way to find new friends. fahie found social success when she joined yyc run crew, a local running club that runs on sunday mornings.
“that’s just been a really amazing experience and i’ve just made so many friends through there. so that’s why i continue running,” she said.
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while fahie hasn’t followed a strict running plan in preparation for the marathon, she runs five times a week. “usually a long run on sundays, yyc run crew on tuesdays and then i’ll add in other runs throughout the week,” she said. “i’m either at the gym or running almost every day.”
the evening following the marathon, she has a heels dance rehearsal that she is set to participate in, just hours after she finishes the race.
“the scheduling is a little rough,” she said. but she hopes to celebrate the end with a beer with her friends, many of whom will also be participating in the races throughout the weekend.
“i’ll be there to cheer them on on saturday,” she said. “and hopefully they’re there on sunday.”
roch pedida, 29
pedida can already predict what it’ll be like to stand at the start line of his race on saturday and to run past the finish line amid the cheering spectators, volunteers and right to the snack table.
“i call it the longest conversation that you have with yourself,” he said. saturday will be his third time running the 10-km race, ever since he took up running in 2020 and then went back to it after a prolonged break in 2024.
first it begins with what he describes as an “absolute rollercoaster” of chaos and calm as runners ready themselves with their pre-race routines, whether that be a trip to the bathroom, sign ins and baggage checks. “and once all that is over, everyone is just set in their corrals. it’s a calm.”
and then the race begins. “essentially throughout, you just keep asking yourself, how are you feeling? what adjustments do you need to make? do you need to have a drink of water? just having that conversation with yourself,” pedida said.
“and then in the final one to two kilometres, that’s when i empty the gas tank and go for it, just knowing the finish line is almost there,” he said. passing the finish line, running through the cheers of crowds and volunteers and the feel of the medal placed around the neck, perdida sums it up in one line: “damn, i really did that.”
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after a mentally challenging year in 2024, pedida decided to take up running again. “i decided that if i wanted to bring myself back up, confidence-wise, physically and mentally, then i needed to get running involved with it just because i knew how much i enjoyed it,” he said. that’s when he decided to hire a running coach and sign up for races.
preparation for the races has included two weight sessions throughout the week and one speed session. “those are the sessions where we’re pushing out paces, trying to go fast,” he said, and the weekends with a long run that lasts anywhere between 90 minutes and two-and-a-half hours.
to anyone, running their first race or their 17th, he advised them to remember the effort they put in, just to make it to the starting line.
“regardless of distance and intentions, everyone should be proud of themselves and the effort they put in,” he said.
sandy and kayleigh williamson
three years ago, kayleigh made headlines in the united states after she became one of the first women living with down syndrome to complete the new york city marathon.
while a physical feat in itself, running has always meant much more than winning races to the austin mother-and-daughter duo, beginning with sandy’s mom’s alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016.
“my mom, in a nursing home, used to think that she had escaped and just travelled all over the country,” sandy said. “so my way bridging the gap between a mother who has alzheimer’s and a daughter who has down syndrome is we would go find a race (in a city her mom claimed to escape to), we’d run the race and we’d bring the medal back to my mom.”
running and exercise became a significant part of williamson’s life after sandy researched alzheimer’s and found that all individuals living with down syndrome have an 80 to 90 per cent chance of developing the condition.
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in the process, williamson fell in love with running. in the years since, the two have travelled all over the country and as of this week, flew in calgary to run their first out-of-state marathon.
“there’s like a 360-degree difference between texas and calgary,” sandy said, adding that she and williamson had always wanted to visit canada and jumped at the opportunity to run a marathon in calgary.
in 2023, the two participated in their first new york city marathon. “my mom always wanted to take her and never had the chance,” sandy said. “so when we got the opportunity, we grabbed it.”
watching williamson get to run in the marathon with support on either end either cheering her on, or dancing with her was a touching sight to her mother’s eyes.
“she would stop in the middle of the street and just dancing when the songs came on and it was amazing,” sandy said. “this is what it’s supposed to be like.”
finishing the marathon earned williamson profiles on people magazine and an appearance on the today show, a chance to meet hollywood actress scarlett johansson and an army of fans on social media.
“as caregivers we think, my child would never do that,” sandy said. “and it’s because that when they’re growing up, we’ve been told so many things by doctors and teachers and educators what they can’t do, but not what they can do.
“and i think that’s the bigger thing, you have to think outside the box, come up with goals to (motivate) her.”
runners are cheered on by thousands of spectators along the route.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
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