In a new series, Dunfee will take Richmond News readers along his journey to Rio; sharing thoughts on training, competing and what it’s like to be a top-level athlete.
I am so happy to be given the opportunity to share my passion and my journey with you.
I have an exciting year ahead as I gear up for my first Olympic Games. Along the way, I will be sharing insights into what my day-to-day training and competing looks like, and introduce you to some of the sports science that we use to give us a competitive edge. I will also be delving into some of the psychological components that are so often considered taboo topics in sport.
But to kick things off, a quick story: A few weeks back, in the midst of taking a month off to recover and rejuvenate after my 2015 season ended, I was asked to be a member of a “Whistler 50” relay team (eight members run alternative legs of 13 and 7 km) with some friends who are all UBC or SFU track and field alumni. This dedicated team was looking to win for the fifth consecutive year, and I was happy to help. But some things had noticeably changed; the largest being how much slower the team members had gotten over those five years.
Coming out of university and moving on with “real” life had obviously meant moving on from high-level training. What blew me away though, was despite being slower, the intensity with which they prepared for and reached towards their goals hadn’t changed at all. The lessons they had learned through sport and the camaraderie they felt hadn’t dissipated.
That’s the amazing power of sport. On any given day, humans can conquer their goals and feel like superheroes, having pushed beyond what they thought they were capable of.
The goals between two people may be worlds apart, but the desire to chase those goals is the ultimate level playing field. With that, and in addition to the multitude of health benefits, sport also teaches compassion and responsibility, and can instill a way of being that few other pursuits can.These lessons are then quickly adopted into every aspect of one’s life.
Therein lies my ultimate goal for this series. I hope that through writing about my experiences, I may inspire even one person to take up sport, or to re-commit to chasing their dreams, so that they can find the same level of joy in accomplishing a goal that I have had over the past 15 years.
Because there is nothing better than feeling like a superhero.
