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By Lori Ewing
Emilie Mondor 's dedication to running was profound and her love for her sport intense, and few athletes that knew the late Olympian could help but be inspired by her.
Nicole Stevenson included.
The Toronto marathoner will toe the line in Mondor's honour Saturday at the second annual Emilie's Run, a 5-K race in Ottawa named for the talented distance runner who was killed in a car crash in 2006 at the age of 25.
``She was a very hard worker, very determined, a pretty intense individual in a good way, with the intensity that's required at a high level,'' Stevenson said.
``In other words, she made me feel like a slacker,'' she added, laughing. ``But she was really impressive in her dedication to the sport.''
Mondor, from Mascouche, Que., was the first Canadian woman to dip below the 15-minute mark in the 5,000 metres, and competed in the 2004 Olympics before being sidelined by a string of injuries.
But the wiry five-foot-six athlete was finally on the mend, and had just announced she was moving up to the marathon, moving to Ottawa to train for gruelling event with Ken Parker.
The coach said he has no doubt that if Mondor was alive, she would have clocked a Canadian women's marathon record, and would be headed to the Beijing Olympics.
But on Sept. 9, Mondor was headed to her parents home in Mascouche when her car overturned about an hour east of Ottawa. She died later that night in hospital.
Parker, the race director of the annual Ottawa women's 5-K race, renamed the event in Mondor's honour.
Her parents Nicole and Francois will be there once again to cheer on the runners.
``They're really happy that Emily's memory is being kept alive through the race,'' Parker said.
Stevenson, who won the Ottawa 5-K two years ago and finished second last year, is the favourite Saturday_ although the marathon specialist will have to pick up the pace for the relatively short distance.
``I haven't really done any speed work all year, so this is a chance for me to get my butt kicked and swallow my pride,'' she joked. ``It is really short. It will be an all-out sprint for me.''
The race is considered one of the fastest women's events in Canada.
``Last year we had 45 women run under 20 minutes, which is outstanding,'' Parker said.
Of all the 5-K races in Ottawa so far this year, only 22 women have run under 20 minutes.
``We should double that in one race,'' Parker said, ``so the race has become an attractive thing for people who want to come and have some good competition.''
Nicole Stevenson - RunnersWeb.com 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, On June 24, 2006
For Stevenson, the race marks the continuation of a comeback from severe fatigue that hampered her for more than a year, the result of overtraining.
She was in top form in 2006, finishing second in the Houston Marathon and then racing at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. Fatigue started to take its toll, but she tried to run through it at first.
``I would go to a practice and I was always tired, and then finally it just really bad to where I couldn't even run,'' she said. ``When I ran my personal best in the marathon, the average mile time was (five minutes 47 seconds). I couldn't even run one mile in 5.47. But I just kept going and going until I really couldn't go anymore.''
Stevenson took a break and focused on her career in marketing with a Toronto pharmaceutical company, and started finally feeling better at the end of 2007.
She was the second-placed Canadian woman at the Ottawa marathon last month, and has her eyes on a spot on the team for the 2009 world track and field championships in Berlin.
``I just let running come back when my mind and body felt right,'' Stevenson said. ``Hopefully I'll get back in personal best shape, because I feel like I still have a couple of minutes to spare there in the marathon. But it's great to feel like I'm getting competitive again after such a long hiatus.''
On Saturday, Stevenson will pause to remember Mondor at the starting line of the race which she said is unlike any other.
``It certainly has a different feel, and I certainly feel for her,'' Stevenson said. ``But on the positive side, the effect she had on Ken Parker, he just thought the world of her, so it's great to see him putting this on in her memory, it's really nice to dedicate it to Emily.
Stevenson likens Mondor's story to that of Steve Prefontaine's, the star American runner who died in a car accident when he was 24.
``She was full of promise, very similar to Steve Prefontaine in that she had so much going for her,'' said Stevenson. ``It ended way too soon.''
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