Why 80% of Canadian Olympians Rely on Charitable Donations | CANFund Founder Jane Roos
As a teenager, Jane Roos was one of the country’s most promising young talents in track and field, with Olympic aspirations to represent Canada in the heptathlon. At age 18, those aspirations came to an abrupt halt after a devastating car accident brought an end to her athletic career.While tragedy marked the end of her personal pursuit of Olympic glory, it also served as a catalyst for a new pursuit that would help countless other Canadians achieve their own sporting dreams. While recovering in hospital from the spinal surgery needed to repair the broken back suffered in the accident, Jane set about raising money to fund fellow athletes pursuing the upcoming Olympic games [Sydney]*, creating the vision for a charity that would help bridge the gap between good and great for promising Canadian athletes by providing them with direct financial support. Shortly thereafter, the Canadian Athletes Now Fund was founded.Fast forward to today, and CANFund has provided direct financial support to 80% of Canadian Olympians spanning every Games from Athens 2004 to the upcoming Games in Milano-Cortina in 2026. In recent years, reliance on the funding CANFund offers has become even more acute for many, as rising costs place an added squeeze on athletes. Add to this the Federal government’s announcement earlier this month that they would not increase core funding for National Sport organizations from their most recent increase 20 years ago, and the prospects of competing on the world stage for many of Canada’s top athletes have become evermore unfeasible. Today on the shakeout podcast, CANFund founder Jane Roos joins the show to discuss how CANFund is gearing up to meet a record number of applicants and why it’s more important than ever for Canadians to support the athletes that represent our country on the global stage.Find out more about CANFund HERESubscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.Huge thank you to this week's sponsor Smartwool. Join the Smartwool mailing list to receive updates and 15% off your first purchase. https://bit.ly/4hCway5 Conditions apply: Valid on regular-priced items. Can., 16+. Initial registration only. See terms for details.
--------
40:10
--------
40:10
The Rundown: ACXC Preview
The best distance runners in the country are heading back to London for the 2025 Canadian Cross Country Championships and Canadian Running is your source for all the action.The stakes are extra high for this year’s edition of ACXC, as athletes go head-to-head for to secure their place on the Canadian team heading to the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida in just 6 week’s time. This week on The Shakeout Podcast, Canadian Running Staff writers Cameron Ormond and Marley Dickinson join host John Gay to tackle all the major story lines heading into this year’s championships. They break down the entry lists on both the men’s and women’s sides and give their picks on medal threats, dark horses, and which athletes will be punching their tickets to to don the red and white in Florida.Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.Huge thank you to this week's sponsor Smartwool. Join the Smartwool mailing list to receive updates and 15% off your first purchase. https://bit.ly/4hCway5 Conditions apply: Valid on regular-priced items. Can., 16+. Initial registration only. See terms for details. Cover Photo: Sean Burges - Mundo Sports Images
--------
38:37
--------
38:37
How Reframing Your Perspective Holds the Key to Performance | Coach Kevin Smith
For as long as he can remember, running has been a fundamental component of Kevin Smith’s life. Even during recurring bouts of injury, Smith held onto the identity and community that the sport provided, trusting that someday, he’d have the chance to find out just how much he was capable of. Through the years of setbacks and time relegated to the status of what he calls a “non-practising runner,” Smith turned his attention to helping other runners reach their goals, holding fast to the belief that one day he’d string together enough healthy years to realize his own racing goals, as well. While the goals changed over time, the relentless pursuit of achieving his best–whatever that might be–remained the same, finally resulting in the breakthrough he had waited decades to experience. Following a Canadian 55+ record in the half-marathon at last year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Smith set out in pursuit of an audacious goal: notching a dozen records in the same number of months. A year on, he can now count himself a six-time Canadian record breaker at distances from five miles up to 30 km.Despite falling short of his 12-record target, the quest brought a renewed passion for the sport and brought home the importance of chasing big goals, no matter your age or ability. Today, Smith joins the show to talk about his breakthrough year, continuing to find joy in the sport as he got older, and how settingh bold goals is its own reward.Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code “shakeout” Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeoutConditions apply: Valid for a limited time on regular-priced items. Cannot be combined with other offers or the member discount. One use per customer.
--------
49:33
--------
49:33
Roman Mironov & Mark Bomba | Queen’s Gaels Repeat as Men’s USports Champs
When Mark Bomba accepted the head coaching role at Queen’s University in 2020, he inherited a men’s program that was decades removed from their last appearance on a national cross country podium. For the new head coach the climb back to the top of the mountain had to begin with a strong culture, and his top priority was identifying just one athlete who would buy into the team-first ethos he was trying to build and serve as a pillar for the team in years to come. Less than 24 hours after the hiring announcement was made, an email from a keen Toronto-area highschooler named Roman Mironov appeared in the new coach’s inbox expressing his eagerness to run in the tri-colour kit of the Gaels; and Bomba knew he had his man.5 years later, the men of Queen’s are now back-to-back USports National Champions, with Mironov himself scoring All-Canadian honours to assist the Gaels in both team victories and Bomba being named 2025 USports Men’s coach of the year. Fast approaching the end of his time as a student-athlete at Queen’s, it’s safe to say that the version of Queens varsity cross country that Mironov will leave behind is a far cry from the one he stepped into 5 seasons ago and that the culture he and his team spent years nurturing into a juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down.Today on the Shakeout Podcast, we’re joined by Roman Mironov, the captain of the 2025 USports Men’s Cross Country Champion Queen’s Gaels and coach Mark Bomba to recap their dominant team victory last week in Sherbrooke and retrace the incredible arc of the program’s trajectory since 2020, culminating in back-to-back national titles.Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.This episode is brought to you by CanPrev! Prime your preparation, power your performance, and prioritize your post-run recovery with CanPrev. Learn how natural health formulas can help you reach your running goals! canprev.ca
When the University of Victoria women’s cross country team claimed a team bronze medal at last year’s U Sports Canadian University Championships, it marked the first time in 13 years that the Vikes had climbed onto the national podium. Claiming bronze individually that same day was Madelyn Eybergen, a breakout star at the University of Windsor, who had entered the season as a complete unknown. Eybergen discovered distance running only a year earlier after injury woes put an end to a promising varsity high-jump career. At the time, both feats seemed like crowning achievements: a return to form for the once-dominant Vikes program after several years of steady rebuilding under new head coach Hilary Stellingwerff, and an incredible cap to her career as a Lancer for Eybergen, who was set to wrap up her time in Windsor and pursue graduate studies in kinesiology elsewhere.Fast-forward to this past weekend in Sherbrooke, Que., however, and the 2025 iteration of the U Sports Championships would see both the Vikes and Eybergen achieve even greater heights, topping the podium with gold medals in the team and individual competitions, respectively. The biggest difference a year later? That the 2024 bronze-medal-winning individual had joined forces with the 2024 bronze-winning team, combining to bring a national title home to Victoria for the first time since 2001–the year Eybergen was born. Today on The Shakeout Podcast we’re joined by the newly minted U Sports Cross Country double gold medallist Madelyn Eybergen and Vikes head coach Hilary Stellingwerff to recap a historic win for their team and talk about how they turned a pair of bronze medals from 2024 into double gold in 2025.Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.Huge thank you to this week's sponsor Smartwool. Join the Smartwool mailing list to receive updates and 15% off your first purchase. https://bit.ly/4hCway5 Conditions apply: Valid on regular-priced items. Can., 16+. Initial registration only. See terms for details.
--------
43:40
--------
43:40
About The Shakeout Podcast
Stories, interviews and discussions about the running world, from the editors of Canadian Running magazine.
New Zealand