Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
Sturgeon Falls residents Julien and Jacinte Marchand have been on a fitness journey that they say has made them grow healthier and closer as a couple, with a culminating moment occurring last month in Ottawa as they completed the Canada Army Run along with some friends. The fundraising event uses sign-up fees collected to support armed forces members and their families. The local couple attended as part of a group activity, suggested by another couple in their friends’ group who meet 3 times per year, with each couple hosting one activity. One couple, who lives in Ottawa, brought up the idea.
“There were thousands of people there,” describes Jacinte. Just in the 5k event, which they took on, Julien estimates that there were over 6,000 participants. Julien is quick to point out that he and his wife are very different in their approach and goals for fitness. While Jacinte is used to running and cardio, he has always preferred lifting weights and building muscle. When this race was first suggested by their Ottawa friends, he was not so eager to do it. However, as training went on, and as the group exchanged messages on their progress and issued challenges to each other, his competitive spirit was fueled enough to keep him motivated. Then, seeing the crowds at the event cheering the runners on, and running against other people’s times, seemed to feed into that competitiveness even further, to the point that Julien admits he’s interested in doing more races now.
As for the Canada Army Run, the Marchands were also happy to contribute to the cause. With friends in the armed forces, Julien appreciates any support that they can get and feels that they are sometimes undervalued. “For how necessary and important they are, we take them for granted every day, I think,” he says, sharing a story of a friend who was sent to help support firefighters during wildfires in British Columbia. He points out that they are more than just trained fighters, they are also an emergency support lifeline for all Canadians. “When something like this happens, we send whoever is trained for it, but we also send the army,” he points out.