Hello! I’m Matt. I live in Toronto with my husband and our golden retriever Syd. I’m frequently asked, “what the hell is fartlek.” I assure you it has nothing to do with passing gas. Fartlek is a Swedish word for “speed play.” You see, I enjoying running fast — realizing this is relative… I’m certainly not Kenyan. When one goes on a fartlek run, they alternate between running really fast for a distance and then slowing down to recover. The distance covered during the fast portion is typically random (i.e. from this lamp post to the next), which ads a certain spontaneity to it. So now you’re hip to the lingo.
I initially began running after a fairly major lifestyle overhaul (re: eating healthy and getting active – more on that here). I’m currently training for the 2010 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and hope to run a few other races this year.
My current running goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon before the next age category (which gives me nine year).
In addition to running and blogging, I work for a medical magazine. I do lots of other stuff too, but I don’t’ want this to start reading like a bad singles ad.
I hope you enjoy the blog and find the same joy and enthusiasm for putting one foot quickly in front of the other as I do. You can find a growing number of runner-friendly dishes on the Recipe page and motivation on the Toronto Runner page. The blog keeps growing, so please check back frequently.
Feel free to contact me (especially if you’d like to featured in the “Toronto Runner” series) through the Contact Me page, or drop me an e-mail at fartlekrunner@rogers.com.
“Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own. Sources of strength never taxed at all because we never pushed through the obstruction.”
- William James
