The Running Whys – Justin Young

This story ran in the Daily Gleaner in August.

The more Justin Young keeps running, the more his motives and appreciation for the sport stays the same.

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The Running Whys – Paulette Stoddard

Paulette Stoddard is a Saint John native who started to run in 2009, one of many important facets that helped in transforming her life.

She continues to live on the West Side of the city and has been happily married to her husband Jim since 1999. Professionally, she is the Purchasing and Security Manager with WorkSafeNB

The Running Whys – Brittany Merrifield

For Brittany Merrifield, the Emera Marathon By The Sea is more than a race, more than logging of kilometres in training.

For the Saint Johner who left the city for more than a decade before returning to the land that she loves, MBTS represents much more than all that.

The Running Whys – Murray Lowery-Simpson

The story ran in the July 29 edition of the Daily Gleaner.

It’s been a while since those early runs for Murray Lowery-Simpson, taking part in his elementary school races as a grade school student in Halifax.

And while the results weren’t exactly the greatest, the experience of those first steps formed a formative base, one that assisted his hockey fitness skills as a teenager and subsequently led him to approximately 20 marathons as an adult, all after he moved to Fredericton around the year 2000.

The Running Whys – Brian and Katie Molloy

The Running Molloys.

It’s a name that takes some time to get accustomed to, especially for a Saint John couple participating in this year’s Emera Marathon By The Sea.

But Brian and Katie Molloy have bonded while training, enjoyed the benefits from their efforts and even have their two children involved in 5-kilometre runs to prepare for this year’s event.

The Running Whys – Run for the Cure

The UniCats. That was the name of the secret club Kathy and her friend Michelle had when they were 12 years old. UniCats believe in the power of magic/miracles (unicorns) and are as fierce as big cats.

Read Kathy’s Run For the Cure page here.

It is the perfect name for the team we are organizing for this year’s CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, Oct. 2.

The Running Whys – Dylan Magee

This year, we wanted to touch base with runners attending Marathon By The Sea from far and wide and we reached Dylan Magee of Texas. He was set to come to Saint John before a few things popped up unexpectedly and he had to change his plans. However, he gave the okay to run his Running Whys. Here it is.

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I am 24 years old and currently live in Houston, TX but was actually born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in a suburb of Dallas, TX.

The Running Whys – 2016 Marathon By the Sea previews in review

White concrete room. Grungy urban wall and floor background interior

One runner lost 70 pounds. Another dropped more than 45.

Several used the sport to deal with the stress of difficult family situations.

Two others detailed their reasons for volunteering at Emera Marathon By The Sea.

And one extremely special woman encouraged us to Never, Never, Never Give Up. Demonstrating determination and a strong will allow you to accomplish anything.

The Running Whys – Natalie Davidson

Natalie Davidson, right, ran her first half marathon at Marathon By The Sea in 2003.

Natalie Davison is originally from Moncton but now calls the far north of Queensland, Australia home. She moved there in 2008 after graduating from Dalhousie University with a physiotherapy degree.

Originally, the trip was thought to be a six-month holiday but she quickly fell in love with the country and never left. However, she is returning to New Brunswick to compete in the half marathon in the 2016 Emera Marathon By The Sea.

Of note, she is training in the winter in Australia although she was still running in shorts and a t-shirt. Eight years later, she is a dual citizen and loving life, while she misses her friends and family.

The Running Whys – Terry Thorne

In the game of running, the marathon represents a most treasured of distances; an exceptionally difficult test of endurance and will in the quest for one of life’s great bucket list items.

Finish the grueling 42.2 km route and the months of intensive training and personal sacrifices made along the way gain you membership into an exclusive club representing just one percent of the population.