I Love it When a Plan Comes Together (or almost)

So finally, after the excitement of not knowing where I’ll be carrying the torch and not knowing how I’m getting there, I’ve received my marching orders.

I’ll be part of a team running from Wawa, towards Thunder Bay, with my leg of the journey starting at the Big Bird Inn on Broadway Avenue, to the RBC in Wawa on January 3rd. Looks like an early start for me that day since I have to be at the Michipicoten Community Centre (on Chris Simon Drive!) for 7am. My mom went and booked the famed Beaver Inn for a couple days just in case the weather is lousy. Probably travel there on the 2nd. I’m not sure what’s cooler – being able to say that I carried the torch down Broadway, or that I’ll be resting my head at the Beaver. Let the jokes begin!

Exciting day yesterday as I received a Purlolator package from VANOC – the organizing committee for the Olympics in Vancouver. Since I had originally been notified that I would receive my torchbearer uniform the morning that I run in Wawa, I was surprised to crack open a box containing exactly that. Well, sort of. I pulled out the uniform and quickly realized it was the wrong size. Talk about a buzz-kill. Then after a bit of digging through the rest of the box, I found a letter that said “Congratulations Colleen!”
Turns out that I received the uni for Colleen from Manitoba who is running on day seventy-something. Shitty. Out of curiosity, I tried on the size small jacket. No go. So I called the toll free number provided in case of problems and found out that there was likely a mistaken switch. The girl on the other end asked if I tried on the jacket since they were made big, because if it fit, I could just keep that one. I had to explain to her that if I were to zip up the jacket and attempt to raise my hand in the air to carry the torch, I’d look like one of those muscle-heads at the bar with a shirt three sized too small to show off his pipes, lifting his arm to hail the bartender while his shirt creeps up to his pierced nipples. In other words – please send me the correct size. Thanks. I didn’t bother trying on the pants since I figured Colleen from Manitoba would appreciate it if I didn’t. I hope she’s just as courteous.

Got a great email passed on to me from a friend of mine, and fellow SPAD grad Eric, who forwarded me a message his sister had passed along to her friends and family before getting to carry the torch in Cavendish on Sunday. Like her brother and I, she’s also been quite involved in sport and currently works for the Canadian Olympic Committee. She’d thanked those who had been a large part of the experience and invited everyone to follow her torch run on the live camera that is featured on the CTV Olympic site (see my sites of interest on the right). This is really cool because now everyone can tune in to the entire relay and see those they know carrying the torch. Or just to tune in to take part in the spirit of it all. So as much as I’d love to have everyone make the trek to Wawa, you can now follow me on the live web cam as I make my reality tv debut. I’ll send out a reminder as I get closer. Jax – you can skip church that Sunday morning to tune in. Only Jax though. I’m pretty sure I’ll be running early enough for the rest of you to make it.
Even though the feed isn’t the greatest, it was still awesome watching the torch relay live on Sunday morning as it made its way through PEI, and getting to see Lisa carry it. I stuck around long enough to see a few passes, finally on to Cassie Campbell hopping on a horse-drawn buggy and bringing it to the Anne of Green Gables house, helping kick off this month’s 135th birthday celebration of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Good on the torch relay organizers for hitting as much Canadiana as they can. Wonder if the Big Nickel is part of Sudbury’s torch fetivities? Gotta be. I’d also vote in favour of the storied Coulson. Hey – the Stanley Cup made it there!!

Pretty impressive relay team accompanying the runners I must say which became part of the focus while following online. Guys and girls running alongside, making sure the torch stays upright and nobody drops it. People on bikes racing back and forth to clear the way. Trucks and vans and more trucks and vans in the torch convoy with police cruisers and lights flashing everywhere. Quite the road show. It’s highly unlikely that any “torch terrorists” or Olympic protesters get a good chance of sabotaging the runners for fear of getting pummeled by Olympic security jumping out of vans like the A-Team. I’m feeling pretty safe that if something does happen, Wawa won’t be the place. And if it is, I’m working on convincing my brother to come along and keep the beard and hairdo, so even if Wawa gets rowdy, I pity the fool who even tries getting in the way.

There's nothing uglier than a man hitting his stride

As people have been sending me their best over the last week or so, there's been a recurring question from many well-wishers: "So have you started training?” Their friend's cousin or their brother's roommate's uncle, or whoever they also know that's carrying the torch somewhere across this great country has apparently been training since they found out their good news. My turn with the torch lasts all of 300 metres from what I understand, so I figured I could wing it. I got a call today at work from a girl whose father-in-law, in his sixties, is running with the torch just outside of Timmins. He runs at least 5k every day. So after these comments come up a dozen or so times, and after watching the first week and a half of the torch relay coverage on tv, I'm kind of thinking "Holy shit, should I be?"

I'm by no means a runner. Far from it. I'm not the kind of guy who enjoys running. Never have. Some people love that shit - the runner's high and all. I never got it. Running is for kids with boundless energy until you figure it out at about 6 or 7 years old that it was overrated. I played soccer for most of my life. Played at a pretty competitive level as a midfielder, so I saw my share of running. Maybe it was the practices that killed me. Laps. More laps. Hills, stairs, suicides. Hell. That picture above is me with some of the guys from the 2000 Ethiopian Olympic team. There's a reason I stick out and it's not just the pigmentation. I'm not built for running. Short and bow-legged. All ass n' elbows. Better for hockey or bull-riding I suppose. Graceful runner - not so much.

I tried getting into running quite a number of times over the years. I still make an effort to hit the treadmill during the week, but it's only because it's getting too lousy out to rollerblade. It's not the endurance aspect of it. I don't mind a good lung burning. I play hockey twice a week and try to hit the gym as well. It's the toll on my knees (and hips and back and....) yup - I'm like an arthritic 80 year old. As I drive my environment-saving SUV through the city, I see all of these people running in the morning and at night. So smooth and fluid. Untiring. I've always had an admiration for these people. Always thought they were nuts, but still admired them. Guys like my buddy Norm, who ran x-country in high school, competed at the provincial level (was Lasalle SS's Midget Athlete of the Year as a result - you're welcome for the plug buddy) and could take years off from running if he wanted to, and then go outside one day and knock off 5 or 10 km like it was nothing. Baffling and awesome. I work closely with doctors and medical residents and there have been a couple things I’ve noticed over the years. They are a disproportionate group of vegetarians, and they run. I’m not about to give up steak, but there’s gotta be something to the running thing.

I can't even imagine how terrible my running form must look. I’m sure it’s ugly to begin with, but I’m still recouping from a torn hamstring at the end of the summer, so pretty it ain’t gonna be. So I'm starting to get a bit worried that I'll make that spiffy white torch relay uniform look really really bad as I stomp down those 300 metres. Add to the fact that I have to hold a torch out over my head as I take my jaunt, and I’m sure it’ll make for great cinema for the video takers I hope to have with me.

The other thing I'm getting concerned about is the actual pace I should do this run. As much as I want the moment to last as long as humanly possible, I can't walk it. Doesn’t fit the athletic nature or the ancient history of the torch run. I'd do my best Usain Bolt impersonation and sprint it, but I doubt I could keep up the sprint for 300m and look at all cool. I don’t need frozen snot pictures to commemorate the day. Plus, I'm running in January somewhere near Wawa, which means there's a great possibility that the good ol' Trans Canada Highway may be covered in snow. Maybe some old school snowshoes would do the trick and be authentically Canadian, but I'm sure they already beat me to it up in Inuvik a few days ago. I’m thinking a spirited jog is what this calls for. Not too slow, but not anywhere near a sprint. More Forrest Gump at the end of his run, than his torrid pace at the beginning. And really, it can’t get any uglier than Tom Hanks at that point in the movie, so I should be okay.

How the hell did you get selected? / Some guys have all the luck

Rod Stewart - Some Guys Have All The Luck
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

The Rod Stewart clip is for Laplante, so somebody make sure he gets it. I'm more into Rod's Faces days ;)

Since I can remember, like many people I know, I’ve have had a fascination with the Olympics. I’m a sucker for the hype and the magnitude and of course, the sports themselves. Unlike most people I know, I’ve been really lucky to have added to that fascination with some really cool complementary experiences throughout the years. In speaking with numerous people over the past few days about being selected to carry the torch, it got me thinking about my own “series of fortunate events” tied into the Rings, and I apologize in advance for the history lesson but the underlying theme is uncanny.
When I was 10, I played atom hockey for Moore’s Esso. That year, in 1987, the Canadian Men’s Olympic hockey team was to play against Russia’s team at the Sudbury Arena. Esso was sponsoring the series and apparently had sent someone to one of our practices to select a player to drop the puck for the ceremonial face-off at the upcoming game. The story I was given was that I was working hard in practice that day (for those who’ve laced up with me – you know this may be questionable) and so they pointed me out and I got asked to do the honours. More likely is that they found the smallest guy on the ice who would have the biggest crowd appeal, wearing an oversized Esso sweatshirt walking out on the red carpet to center ice at the big game. Or they saw me go backhand shelf. Whatever the reason, I got selected. If memory serves me correctly, it was more exciting that I would get to shake Andy Moog’s hand before the game than to actually be part of this international Olympic warm-up. Back then I was also a big fan of the Russian machine. Always loved the way they moved the puck and the mystique behind that team. Just check out that gold medal roster.

After just having turned 16, my soccer team planned a trip to play some games in Europe. We toured Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Lichtenstein, playing a few games, but mostly seeing Europe. Pretty awesome trip for a bunch of 16 year old guys from Sudbury. During that trip we got to see the incredible Olympic park in Munich built for the ’73 Summer Games with it’s amazing metal tent-like structure, as well the Innsbruck, Austria Olympic park built for the ’76 Winter Games – ironically, the same Games that Vancouver first bid for, though I may be mistaken in my history. We got to climb up the ski-jump for a great view of the area. Austria is still on my list of places I need to return to – and not just for the beer.

In 1996, after originally planning to go to university somewhere on the other side of the country, I changed my mind and applied to Laurentian’s Sports Administration (SPAD) program. I entered at a time where the program had taken some focus off of pro sports and redirected it considerably to the Canadian amateur sport system. I’m pretty sure this started my appreciation of the amateur sport world, from more of an inside perspective. Our sport courses were very Olympic themed, and we’d learn that our 4th year projects would allow us the opportunity to make marketing presentations to the International Olympic Committee, at their headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. If you think a trip to Europe at 16 is awesome, multiply it times 100 when you’re 23! Before my fourth year I got hired to work for the Pan Am Games organizing committee in Winnipeg for the summer, really exposing me to the world of international games. I remember being called on a Wednesday after having interviewed me by phone, thinking I was from Winnipeg, and asked me to start on the Monday. Packed the car and started the 18 hour drive through the States, since ironically, it was the summer of the forest fires in Wawa. Ten years later and I’m running with an open flame through that same area. HA!

The IOC trip and presentations at the end of 4th year in SPAD allowed me some contacts within the Olympic Games, as did having some SPAD colleagues already working in Australia, so after graduating, I was lucky enough once again to land a gig with the organizing committee for the Sydney Olympic Games. The decision was really tough…get paid to work at the Olympics, in Australia, and live there for a few months- just to make the notion really terrible. Days off spent on Bondi Beach watching the women’s beach volleyball teams practice, capped off by scoring tix to the 100m Finals and the Closing Ceremonies. All in all, well played I must say.

So, it brings me to here. Ten years after having visited the IOC headquarters, and nine years after having worked at the Games in Sydney, and the luck continues.
I mentioned in my last post that I’m quite sure I had some little old ladies’ helping hands from above, but I guess there’s a bit more to the story.

I, like many people I know, applied to the Coke and RBC torch relay contests. RBC got you to fill out what you would do to make it a better Canada as it related to being active. I’ve always had the belief that active living and being involved with sport made you a better person. Physically, intellectually, socially and mentally – and if you know some of the guys I’ve suited up with on the ice, definitely mental. So, it was an easy task to mention that I would try to stay active and promote this type of lifestyle to friends and family. Nothing new or out of the ordinary. I did also figure that trying to pad my application with mention that I was involved with the Olympic Games would help. So I did. I found out later that it really carried no weight as the contest was luck of the draw.

I received an email a few months ago saying that I had made the pre-selection group but was not guaranteed to be a torch bearer. Talk about carrot dangling. They sent some paperwork to fill out and return through a marketing agency that RBC had hired to look after the contest and selection. General stuff like contact info, waivers, toque size to fit how big my head might get from doing this. Finally, in early October, I received a call from somebody at the marketing firm confirming my selection and date. It was like finding out I’d been accepted to university or something. How do you spread the news and still sound humbled by it? Still something I guess I’m fighting with but what the hell, let’s get everyone involved.

And that’s pretty much it. Went through the motions like most of the country probably did, left the rest to luck and fate. Now if the location and weather can follow the same trend…

Day 1 - And so it begins

October 30th (aka Day 1), and I’m in Calgary for work when I get the word that “you made the Globe!”. I’d been contacted by the Globe and Mail earlier in the week for a quick interview about having been selected as an official Olympic Torch Bearer for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. The reporter, trying to get her story in for an upcoming Torch Relay feature section started the conversation by asking me “So, what does it mean to you to carry the torch?” A hokey question if you ask me. So I start talking to her about the Olympic spirit and my past involvement with the Games and the Movement and how it’s an honour and a privilege. And as I think I’ve given a great answer about being involved in something monumental, the interviewer chimes in and asks, “Ya, but what does it mean to you?” So I thought, “did you at least listen to my answer?”. I go on to explain that I’ll be carrying the torch somewhere between Sault Ste Marie and Thunder Bay, and though it will be a trip, it will be worth every second. Not knowing the geography of Northern Ontario, she asks how far the drive from Sudbury to Thunder Bay would be, so I explain that I’d rather drive to the airport, and fly there. “Ooooh, I guess it’s going to be really cold”. Toronto reporter indeed. So the smart ass in me cracks back that I’d have the flame to keep me warm… and presto – there’s my quote in the Globe. Ah well, at least I got a mention beside Shania Twain. I wonder what it means to Shania.

That hokey first question keeps coming back to me though. What does it mean to carry the torch? It touched down in Canada yesterday and began its nation-wide trek across this great country of ours and I have to commend the national media for the attention it has given the start of the relay. I had chills reading through the Globe’s feature, while I was at a conference, appropriately in the home of the Flames - Calgary. They didn’t stop when I returned to my hotel and saw it covered all over the t.v. And then I start thinking of what this really does mean. I’m not Rick Hanson or Cindy Klassen or Simon Whitfield, or any of those great Canadians being mentioned as confirmed or possible torch carriers. Neither is Shania I guess. I’m a guy who has loved sport since birth and who has been a fan of amateur sport and the Olympic Games forever. My family has always been big fans of the Olympics and all the schools I attended throughout my youth continued to pave the way for my interest and involvement in sport. It’s afforded me countless opportunities. It’s developed lifelong friendships. It has taken me all over the world. It was the basis for my university education in Sports Administration, and was also my first area of employment after finishing school. I’ve met athletes and coaches, organizers and administrators from all over this planet who all have this unifying theme tying them all together. I’ve gotten to see first hand the excitement of having a role in the Olympic Games. There’s a vibe that’s unexplainable. There’s a passion that every person from every country that’s made the trek to the Games in the air that is incomparable. The passion resonates to everyone’s home country across the world. That passion was formally ignited yesterday in Victoria.

I didn’t luck out and get the Sudbury leg of the relay, though I can hardly speak poorly about my luck with this whole experience. I’ve obviously been the recipient of great fortune with how this has all worked out. I’m pretty sure that my Nona, or my mom’s aunt, both who passed away over this last year, but both who were loyal fans of the Olympic Games provided me some help with the matter. These are the two who, nine years ago, at the youthful ages of 71 and 81, watched countless hours of Olympic coverage while I was in Sydney and swore they saw me on t.v. I told you I came from a sport-loving family. I have no doubts they made some type of deal with the big guy upstairs, or with Jacques Rogge for that matter. I still haven’t received word of where exactly I’ll be running, though my trusty Globe reporter gave me the scoop that she heard it was near Wawa. So who knows, maybe it will be me, the giant goose, and Chris Simon.
I’m not sure what I’ll write about specifically over the next ten weeks but thought this to be a good way to bring people together, like the torch relay, to not only talk about my chance to bear the Olympic Flame but to provide an opportunity for others to be a part in my journey to Day 66. I’m not expecting many of my friends and family to be able to make a trek to Wawa or whatever stretch of highway 17 I’ll be running, but I do hope that everyone can follow along via this blog and have a little bit of fun with me.
I’m generally a pretty low key type of guy but I’ve come to the realization that this is huge. This is very special, and I’ll do my best to share the experience so it can be special for you too. I guess that touches on what carrying the torch will mean to me.

“I am feeling very Olympic today”
- Sanka Coffie, Cool Runnings