WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE
Having lived through the suicide deaths of two close family members and mental health diagnoses of other family members, I found my voice as a mental health advocate.
In 2015 I created the first Canal Pursuit for Mental Health, a 785 km run ending on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, as a mental health fundraiser and awareness event. Since then I have built on the momentum of that event by developing it into an annual relay run, and creating Canal Pursuit Productions which hosts other running events and podcasts connecting fitness and mental health.
I am honoured to serve as a member of the board of directors of The Mood Disorders Society of Canada. In addition, I write about mental health issues, and deliver keynotes wherever and whenever I can.
There are four main pages on this site:
Mental Health Advocacy: You'll find my blog here, as well as up-to-date information about the activities of The Mood Disorders Society of Canada.
Canal Pursuit Productions: dedicated to the joy of running and physical activity for the promotion of mental health, specifically in the area of mood disorders.
The Biker Page: I have taken two extended bike trips in the past few years, and written books about both. You'll find some information on those books on this page. Also ... something I never expected I'd be doing is writing poetry! But never say never! I was honoured (and somewhat shocked!) to have been selected as a finalist in the 2023 Toronto International Biker Poetry contest. You'll find one of my poems, The Road Trip, here as well.
Shop Page: You'll be able to purchase both of my books here, as well as three others in which I was a contributing writer.
Speaking Topics
Canal Pursuit for Mental Health
Turning passion for a sport into a mental health advocacy powerhouse. Running Canada’s longest annual relay run has enabled me to help runners speak out for themselves and others.
The Monarch Ultra
Go ahead and make big plans. Planning and running the world’s longest international relay has shown me that large projects can be broken into manageable pieces.
Bruce Trail end-to-end
Finding “it”; the thing that will keep you going when everything else says “Stop”. Spending 215 hours hiking over 900 km on the Bruce trail has allowed me time to analyze what “it” is for me.
