It all started in 2022, while I was knee-deep in my doctoral thesis and craving mental clarity. Between research tangents, parental duties, and musical life, I felt my brain had turned into overcooked gnocchi. Running began as a desperate attempt to defog my mind and reclaim my body. What I didn’t expect was how much it would save my mind and later, how far those running shoes would take me.

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Running quickly became an opportunity for mindfulness. It sharpened my focus for writing, helped me survive academic deadlines, and became a surprisingly effective coping tool for the pressures of life as a traveling musician and university professor. It’s hard to catastrophize about chamber music policies when you’re gasping for air halfway up a hill.

🧬 My Family’s Endurance Gene (Apparently)

The endurance seed was already planted in my DNA. My dad once completed La Traversée de Charlevoix in the 1980s on telemark skis. My mom? She decided to run a marathon for her 50th birthday as a “treat.” (Some people buy themselves something nice; she bought a transformative experience and perhaps some blisters.)

Maybe it’s no surprise, then, that I’ve always dreamed of long distances—of traveling far on my own two feet and seeing just how far my body could take me before my brain revolted.

🏃‍♀️ First Races, First Surprises

My first 10K race came in April 2022, and, predictably, things escalated. I tried an Olympic-distance duathlon. Then a sprint. Then another. Somehow, I kept landing on the podium, probably because there weren’t many women in my age group… but I’ll take it!

Honestly, I earned those podiums. I trained at 5 a.m. before teaching, after bedtime stories, and between rehearsals. It was chaotic, exhausting, and extremely fulfilling. And once you catch the multi-sport bug, there’s only one direction to go: forward, longer, maybe faster (but that’s optional).

🌊 From Fear of Water to Ironman 70.3

Multi-sports have a way of pushing boundaries, and this includes open water. Despite my fear of swimming (and a freestyle that looked more like aquatic survival), I hired a coach and trained for an Ironman 70.3.

I even planned my wedding around it. In the summer of 2023, my husband and I got married in an ancestral forest in Tofino, BC, right before my first Ironman event in Victoria. It was our farewell to the West Coast before moving back to Montreal. Salt, vows, and lactic acid, all in one trip.

A month later, I signed up for another 70.3 in Mont-Tremblant, which says everything you need to know about my personality and neurospicyness. IYKYK.

⚖️ When “Healthy” Becomes Too Much

After joining the Schulich School of Music as a viola professor, I started realizing that endurance training can also become… well, another endurance test. My “move to feel good” philosophy slowly turned into “train to exhaustion.” I began flirting with injury, overtraining, and losing my cycle- ironically, the opposite of health.

In 2024, I pivoted. I focused on cycling—Charlevoix Granfondo, Magog triathlon—and used those events to raise $1,500 for a scholarship in memory of my brother, Mathieu Gauthier-Thibeault. Domaine Forget matched the donation, giving a nearly full scholarship to promising young violists. My miles felt truly meaningful.

That same summer, I let go of the opportunity to run the Chicago Marathon —a big emotional decision—but it was the right one. My body needed rest, so did my mind.

🚴‍♀️ Team Spirit and Grit

Then came cycling season. I joined Scuderia Le Seltzer, a team of fizzy water-fueled legends, under the guidance of the brilliant Nick Kleban. From winter sessions at Toguri to a hail-ridden training camp, it was a wild ride

I raced twice. Both times I was terrified, both times I finished, and both times I reconsidered all my life choices dangling away from the peloton. Competing in the “masters” category is no joke, especially when Lynne Bessette is in your field. But what an experience: many carbs were consumed, podium surprises, and the camaraderie of athletes who love pain as much as they love pastries.

Truthfully? I don’t love riding fast on asphalt. It’s beyond risky for a musician whose fingers pay the bills. So, I retired from cycling road racing, gracefully, and with an intact body. But not without gratitude. I finished the season 5th overall in my category. Not bad for a rookie.

🏅 The Marathon Dream

After “retiring” from road cycling, I finally turned toward the dream that started it all: running my first marathon.

But that story deserves its own post. The heat, stomach issues, the tears, the rescue bus…

See you next Friday for the full marathon saga.

Marina AKA “Viola Borealis Notes”

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