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Ep. 74 50 ultras by 50 years old. With Laura Sherrer-Townsend
“I came into the running world as a hater of running. When I was a kid growing up, I played a lot of soccer and a little bit of rugby, but I always hated the running part. And so then when my husband and I found out that we were pregnant with triplets, we decided to pick one thing outside of our marriage and our kids. To this day, I still don't really understand why I picked running because I still hated it at that time. But it was life-changing for sure because I met a great group of people.”
Laura Sherrer-Townsend doesn’t know why she got into running, but she’s never looked back either. The Edmonton race director found a sense of community and belonging and has engrained herself in the local running scene. Her race, Survivorfest, is a 6 H, 12 H, and 24 H, timed event that she loves organizing because she gets to see the athletes bond throughout the race. That’s been rewarding for her and the race itself raises funds and awareness for Saffron Centre, which is a centre that supports sexual assault victims. This centre and its programs are also what she supports while running towards her goal of 50 ultras by 50 years old. It’s an important cause for Laura.
“Things would have been different for me if something like that had been in my school. Or even when I went to friends when I was young and told them what had happened, they would have been able to support me through that and send me to the right individuals to talk about that. But instead, I kept it a secret for quite a long time. And so I thought this could be a life changer for these kids. I instantly thought that this needs to happen in every school.”
Laura is passionate about community and running, and I was grateful to chat with her and hear a bit of her story. I’m incredibly excited to meet her in person in Edmonton for the Trail Running Film Festival!
Alberta Film Fest tickets on sale today!
A big step for us as tickets are finally going on sale for some of our Alberta shows! Edmonton, and Crowsnest Pass are on sale today. Calgary and Canmore will come online a little later. I’m incredibly excited to be able to hang out with more of you and share the film festival vibes. We’re still finalizing contracts with theatres, but our dates will be:
Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Edmonton (Garneau Theatre) Limited (50) $20 early-bird tickets on sale Feb. 5 at 11 am. Regular Price $25
Wednesday, June 5, 2024, Calgary (Globe Cinema) 1-week of $20 early-bird tickets going on sale soon. Regular Price $25
Thursday, June 6, 2024, Canmore (Partnering with artsPlace) Tickets on sale in March