On Community
This one is for Shelly, who let me know what she thought about me not sending her many stories lately.
Sorry Shelly.
I’ve got a few good stories but I’ll save them for another time. I want to talk about the importance of community.
I broke my collarbone in April in a race on the Gold Coast. It was a pretty rough fall as the bone just snapped in half.
Luckily I had my girlfriend Kirsten on the ground helping me, and my mom dealing with the insurance people back home. I was able to come back to Canada quickly and get in for surgery to put the bone back together a few days later.
By my count it was the third time I’d come back to Victoria after a long time away in some sort of a broken state. In 2014, and in 2015 I’d returned to Victoria with some sort of significant ailment and needed support.
Every single time I’ve fallen, I’ve been helped back up. I’m grateful to have such a strong support network here made up of family, friends, and supporters. Through the winter I hadn’t been feeling like myself, and coming back to Victoria has felt like I’ve been able to re-center. Sharing it with someone else has made it even that more special.
It’s seriously the little things, like catching up with everyone at the bike shop, grabbing a coffee in a familiar cafe, or riding on the old roads. It’s in this environment that I sincerely believe I have been able to heal my collarbone as quickly as I have.
And so with all this feeling of support and community I’ve done my best over the years to try and give back a bit. I was lucky from a young age to be instilled with the importance of giving back to the community through the NTC walk/run for the homeless. We would put on a low-key race to help assist with those less fortunate. These days I’ve been trying to lend a hand through talks at the Running Room, and lending a hand at local races.
I’m still going through the process of trying to figure out how best to provide value to the community, but it’s starting to narrow. I’m convinced sport and exercise have the power to change people’s lives in profound ways. It’s definitely done that for me.
Going to finish this one off by thanking some of those who have helped me return to training through this brief setback. Mum, dad, Kirsten, coach Jono, Sandeep Nandhra, Danya Douglas-Hunt, Cody Flegel, Matt Rose, Dr. Brandon Cali, Dr. Paddy McClusky, Dr. Brent Weatherhead, and Triathlon Canada.
I’m off to Ottawa this Wednesday to race at the National Championships. As my first race back from this injury I’m not fully sure what to expect. But that’s usually the case anyways ;)
Thanks for reading,
Matt
