1. Visit a POLAR dealer near you.
Active Soles
Adventure Guide
Aerobics First Service
All Seasons Source for Sports
All The Right Gears
Alter Ego Sports
Atmosphere Sainte-Fay
Belisle Oxygene
Boutique Courir Longueuil
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Bow Cycle and Sport
Bushtukah
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Centre Du Bicycles Sainte-Fay
Champion Bicycles
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Sports 4
Sports Davis
Sports Experts Anjou
Sports Experts ~~:;::~======4
Sports Experts Carrefour Laval
Sports Experts Centre-Ville
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==·......~
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===!!::::::====Sports Experts Grande Prairie
==::::==="""==9
Sports Experts Leuu'"Y''"'"iiiiiiiiiii' =====::o;;;:;;
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The Running Factory
The Starting Block
The Treadmill Factory
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United Cycle & Motor
~ ~ -·~~ ..,.,.®LI STE NS T O Y O UR BODY
Michael Doyle
YouTube Inspiration, p.16
Michael Doyle is the web producer for
runningmagazine.ca. He trains with the
Longboat Roadrunners in Toronto under
coach Rob Campbell. Michael started
running marathons at age 29 and hopes
to get under 2:30 this fall at the New York
City Marathon.
Lindsey Craig
Huge Loss in Short Bursts, p.38
Lindsey Craig is a Toronto-based runner,
sports and fitness enthusiast, and a
passionate storyteller. With a master's
in journalism, she has worked for CBC
Sports, CTV Montreal and Global News.
She recently ran her first half-marathon
and runs many charity races.
Dianne Kapral
In Tough, p.44
Dianne Kapral is the photo editor at
Canadian Running, Canadian Cycling
Magazineand Triathlon Magazine Canada.
She's been running for 12 years and started
racing triathlons in 2009. Always up
for a new challenge, Dianne took on the
Toronto Tough Mudder and the Canadian
Death Race in 2012.
Spencer Morrison
Once aRunning Story..., p.52
Spencer Morrison grew up in Vancouver
and teaches courses in literary theory and
contemporary fiction at the University
of Toronto, where he's finishing his PhD
in English Literature. A former varsity
track runner for both Queen's and U ofT,
Spencer has also represented Canada at the
world cross-country championships.
runningmagazine.ca 11

2. 0
nTara Martin's 40th birthday, she looked in the mirror and knew she had to save her
life. It was December 8, 2009. At five-foot-eight, Martin weighed 263 pounds."I had just
turned 40 and Ithought. 'If Idon't do something now. I'm going to wake up at 50, 60, then
70 years old, thinking my life had amounted to nothing," she says.
Opposite» TaraMartin
afterherweight loss in2011
Aboveleft » Martin
beforeher weight loss
in 2009
Aboveright » Martin
racingthe2012Scotiabank
BlueNose Marathon
in Halifax
The Halifax resident and sign language interpreter had been overweight since she can remember.
"My mom spent much more time on a bar stool than coming home and cooking food. So, I was left
to my own devices.At the age of five or six, you'd rather open up cherry pie filling than eat some-
thing healthy," says Martin, who grew up in Seattle, as a completely inactive child.
As the weight came on, so did depression. It wasn't long before entire days were comprised of
video games and junk food - Martin often drank six to eight cans of Coke a day. "I went from 20 o
pounds to 2 7 0 pounds. I literally grew into the chair I was playing in," she says. Martin's addiction
to video games stemmed from the chance to live through the characters she played. "I could actually
be that strong person, I could conquer my own life," she says.
And so, on Martin's 4oth birthday, that's what she decided to do.
runningmagazine.ca 39

3. ,·
Huge Loss Comes in Short Bursts
Right » Tara Martin(left)
at the2010Great KilledRun
inSeattle.wellonherway
to hergoalafter losing
58 pounds
Bottom » Martin
volunteeringas acourse
marshallat the 2012Epic
Dartmouth Triathlonin
Dartmouth. N.S.
LIFE-CHANGING STEPS
The first few months were spent taking stairs
instead of the elevator, walking on her lunch break
(Martin's job involves sitting most of the day) and
cutting down on fast food. On February r, 2oro,
while walking her dogs, she made her first real life-
changing steps. "Suddenly, I thought, 'If I can walk,"
she recalls, "let's see ifi can run."' Martin pushed her
body as fast as it would go for half a block. "I lost my
cookies in someone's yard," she says. "My heart rate
was so high, I was dizzy, and I just wasn't prepared.
I didn't know anything about running - but from
there, I just kept going."
Though it was far from easy - Martin jogged at
4 a.m. because she was too embarrassed to be seen -
she stuck with it. By April2oro, running had brought
her weight to 222 pounds. With a long road still
ahead, she enlisted the help ofa trainer. "He believed
in me, even when I didn't." Martin's trainer intro-
duced her to interval workouts. "Until then, I hadn't
been thinking about getting my heart rate up. But
with that extra boost ofcardio, your calorie burn is so
much greater," she says, noting that intervals could
involve sprints, running hills or jumping rope.
A year ofhard work with intervals a constant part of
her routine, ensued. By April2on, Martin checked in
at ISS pounds- more than roo pounds less than she'd
been on her 4oth birthday. "My body completely
changed. It went from being mobidly obese to being
lean and strong and athletic," she says. "You don't
think change is possible? Think again."
Today, at r6s pounds (which she says is a healthier
weight for her body), Martin has become a regular
runner. Beginning with SK and roK races, she has
now completed five half-marathons (personal best of
r:s8:23), a sprint and Olympic triathlon, and in May,
she ran her first marathon in s:o8. In September, she
planned to complete her second marathon. "I was
born an athlete, I just waited 4 0 years to figure it out,"
Martin says.
INTERVAL TRAINING
There are many important factors that contributed to
Martin's running and weight loss success. Proper diet
and lifting weights, for example, have both played a
crucial role.
But one key component in her ability to burn fat has
been interval training- short bursts ofspeed followed
40 Canadian Running November & December 2012

4. Huge Loss Comes in Short Bursts
Right» Mike Cairnsin2006
Bottom» Cairns racing
the 2012Muskoka 5150
in Huntsville.Ont.
by a period of recovery. It's what one Australian
article has shown to help those like Martin who are
significantly overweight. In the study, published in
the journal ofObesity, participants sprinted for eight
seconds, raising their heart rate to between 8o and
90 per cent of their maxi~um rate, followed by 12.
seconds at a slower speed. Results indicate that short
bursts, or speed intervals, followed by periods of
recovery, burn more fat than running or cycling at
lower speeds for the same duration of time.
In fact, scientists in Sydney reported that sprint
training for one hour a week burned the same amount
of body fat in men as it did in those jogging for seven
hours a week. Lead researcher Steve Boutcher, an
exercise physiologist and associate professor at the
University of New South Wales, notes that previous
studies revealed similar results for women. "Bringing
my heart to that rate," Martin says,"then bringing it
back down - it really gave me the extra cardia boost
that I needed for weight loss.
"The calorie burn was so much greater than if I
was running for the same amount of time at the same
consistent [and slower] speed. You're burning more
because of the intensity," Martin adds. Researchers in
: 1 the Australian study found that fast sprinting caused
the body to release high levels of a hormone group
called catecholamines, which help burn fat.
Boutcher says scientists don't know why, but
"moving limbs very fast generates high levels of
catecholamine."
Dr. Jamie Burr, professor of exercise physiology
at the University of Prince Edward Island, agrees
with the study's basic findings. "The exerciser who is
working at a higher intensity will burn more calories,"
he says. "And the exerciser who burns more calories
will lose more fat." Burr also says another advantage
of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is that it's
time efficient. "Someone may find it easier to moti-
vate themselves to work hard for six one-minute
bursts during a 30-minute workout as opposed
to working moderately hard for 30 to 40 minutes
straight," he says.
High-intensity training is also effective at building
aerobic fitness. "In this regard, it is possible that those
who are the most out of shape may benefit to an even
greater extent initially, but HilT training is effective
for everyone, including elite athletes," Burr says.
42 Canadian Running November & December 2012
Michelle Kempton, 38, of Cow Bay, N.S. - co-founder of the
Heart and Sole Running Club, where Martin is a member- has
had her share of battles with weight loss. "I just know that as a
person who lost weight, intervals are what worked for me," says
the former software developer, who once weighed 2.85 pounds.
"My trainer got me down to 250, but then I hit a plateau, which
didn't make sense, because I had so much more to lose."
Kempton recalls the moment her trainer suggested intervals. "I
was like, 'Dude, I'm 250 pounds. This isn't going to be pretty,"'
she remembers. Two years later, Kempton had lost 120 pounds.
"Running intervals broke my plateau," she argues, while noting
that dietary changes, cutting sodium and taking other healthy
steps were all part of the process.
MORE ENERGY
Interval training also made a lasting difference for Toronto's
Mike Cairns, who once weighed 2.30 pounds. "Interval training
forces you out of your comfort zone and pushes you to your
maximum threshold," he says. At 6-foot-2, Cairns is now a
healthy I 85 pounds. "I'd been overweight most of my life. I was
never really into sports and I had poor nutrition. Combined
with an inactive lifestyle, the pounds added up," says Cairns,
26. He tried dieting, but never with lasting success. He also
joined a gym, but that also did very little. "You don't really
know where to start. Plus, being one of the only overweight
people in the gym, it's a little intimidating."
When he was 23, Cairns's sister suggested he try Running
Room's Learn to Run program.The idea ofgetting in shape, and
doing it outdoors, with those at the same fitness level convinced
him to give it a shot. Cairns started with longer intervals - the
reps gradually increased to ro minutes of running and one
minute ofwalking- and joined a roK clinic. Since then, he's run
two half-marathons and two marathons. "When I started out
running, I probably couldn't run longer than ro to rs minutes,
and now I can run about two hours without stopping," Cairns
says, crediting his cardio strength built from the intervals.
He's also completely overhauled his diet - his plate is mostly
vegetarian. "I have a lot more energy, I can do things now that
when I was younger would make me feel exhausted or frus-
trated," he says.
Martin can relate. "I gave myself the gift of life," she says,
noting that her next big challenge will be to complete a Half 1.:
Ironman in 2014. "You've got to challenge the notion of, 'I 1.:
can't,"' she says. "Because you can."
Lindsey Craig is a Toronto-basedjournalist, runner and 1::
1
yoga enthusiast.
runningmagazine.ca 43