Inspired Soles

Soldier On | Christian Stenner

November 02, 2021 Carolyn Coffin and Kim Senechal Episode 58
Inspired Soles
Soldier On | Christian Stenner
Show Notes

Christian Stenner is a man with very diverse interests. We invited him on this podcast because Kim connected with him when he was running the Sinister 7 100 miler this summer, however as she got to know him she discovered ultrarunning is just one of the many things to which he devotes his time.  Christian lives in Calgary, AB with his wife and his dog.  In addition to his day job, he is an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces specializing in leadership development of youth in the Army Cadet Program. He is a search and rescue coordinator specializing in cave rescue, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, and is dedicated to sharing unknown parts of the world with others while  contributing to citizen science.  If you aren’t sure what citizen science is...keep listening!

This summer Christian did the Canada Army Run “Sandbag Edition” by combining all the distances offered to run approximately 42km with a 40 lb sandbag on his shoulders in order to raise awareness and funds for Soldier On.

Although Christian describes himself as “a low performance athlete who runs and attempts to run ultramarathons with mixed success,” one could question his meaning of success.  A member of the Altra Running Team, he placed third man in the Sinister Triple this year, completed the 2019 Lost Soul 200K, and raised $11,000 for Wellspring Calgary in the 2018 Challenge the Chief firefighter stair climb.  We don’t know where he gets all his energy, but Christan Stenner is a man on a mission and we hope he inspires you to challenge yourself, combine your passions, and help someone in the process!

CORRECTION: Kim incorrectly stated that the ground reaction force increases by 5-10% with each foot strike.  It should have been 5-10x.

Donate to Christian's Fundraiser:

Resources we discussed in the episode:

  • Favourite Mantra: Put yourself in the place of greatest potential
  • Favourite Place to Run: Mountains (west of Calgary, Canmore, Crow’s Nest Pass)
  • Bucket List Race: Qualifier for Western States, 200M (Moab, Bigfoot)
  • Favourite Running Book: Range by David Epstein, Quiet by Susan Cain, Relentless Forward Progress by Byron Powell
  • Favourite Post Run Indulgence: Big Mac (greasy burger)

More info on Christian's caving:

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