The Athletes Podcast
The Athletes Podcast is a leading source of information, inspiration, and education for anyone interested in optimizing physical performance, maintaining good health, and living an active lifestyle. Join David Stark as he interviews some of the world's biggest athletes and fitness professionals, The Athletes Podcast provides practical advice, expert insights, and real-world strategies to help listeners achieve their health and fitness goals.The goal is to entertain, educate & inspire the next generation of athletes!
The Athletes Podcast
From Montreal to Paris - Sprinting Through Life: Marie-Eloise Leclair's Olympic Journey
Marie-Eloise Leclair shares her journey from a Montreal athlete to becoming a Canadian Olympian competing in the 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics. National Record Holder 13x All-American D2, her story weaves through early sports experiences, collegiate decisions, Olympic village insights, and her ongoing development as an elite sprinter.
• Originally recruited to SFU as a 400m hurdler before her coach redirected her to pure sprinting
• Competing in the NCAA while remaining in Canada through SFU's unique position as the only Canadian school in the NCAA
• Playing multiple sports growing up including flag football, which she describes as her favorite sport
• The Paris Olympics exceeded all expectations with family support in the stands and incredible village experiences
• Taking creatine as a performance supplement and noticing significant physical benefits
• Managing multiple training modalities including swimming for recovery and cross-training
• Preparing for upcoming World Relays competition in China while navigating jet lag challenges
• Behind-the-scenes Olympic experiences including podium kit stories and closing ceremony challenges
Don't count yourself out, work hard, and always have fun. That's what kept me in the sport for so long and what allowed me to have all these amazing memories.
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And I played flag football too. That was my favorite.
Speaker 2:No, way yeah, LA 2028. Let's go.
Speaker 3:Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Athletes Podcast. Today, dave's out on the road. We've got another Conversations in Cars with Marie-Louise Leclerc, canadian Olympian 4x100 sprinter, also student at SFU as well as a track athlete there. She was fantastic, gave lots of awesome insights on what it was like to be an Olympian at the Paris Olympics, what the closing ceremonies were like you'll get to see some fun stuff about that and what it's like to move across the country for school and for track, going from Montreal to Vancouver for SFU. She was fantastic. Nothing but awesome things to say about her. So, without further ado, let's get in the episode.
Speaker 4:You're the most decorated racquetball player in US history, world's strongest man, from childhood passion to professional athlete, eight-time Ironman champion. So what was it like making your debut in the NHL? What is your biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes, from underdogs to national champions? This is the Athletes Podcast, where high-performance individuals share their triumphs, defeats and life lessons to educate, entertain and inspire the next generation of athletes. Here we go.
Speaker 2:We got all our perfect sports supplements here.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:Marie, thank you for coming on the show.
Speaker 1:Of course. Thanks for having me. This is the 258th episode whoa. We're starting off hot I'm the worst co like co-pilot ever. So I'm really gonna expose myself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's that's not good. I rely on my passengers to provide me with the best directions possible, so I'm just the passenger, princess usually yeah, that's okay. You know what you assume, the role you're most typically in, so we'll let that slide right here.
Speaker 1:Okay, long stops should help perfect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we don't have a rush to go anywhere. We're in the jeep, it's electric, so you don't have to worry about spending too much on gas. Um, left here. Perfect, I'm gonna go out on a limb. Typically, I ask people's names before we start.
Speaker 1:Marie eloise leclerc yes, good, very good. Honestly, I think my name is easier to say in english and in french because, people just like go letter by letter, and it works out. And in french they just go, they butcher it so bad marie-eloise leclerc.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's good too, wow bilingual.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, yeah that's good too, wow, bilingual Okay Comment ça va Bien.
Speaker 2:merci, I do speak French. I am bilingual according to the DELF.
Speaker 1:What's that oh?
Speaker 2:The Diplôme d'études de la langue française.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, very good, actually I can hear all the pronunciation they're good, that's grade 12.
Speaker 2:French Okay, haven't been used in a decade, but you know that's the thing.
Speaker 1:It's hard when you don't practice to like keep it up, but you're pretty good how was your transition from montreal out west?
Speaker 1:um, it's funny because I thought before I moved here that I was like so good, I was set with english and no one would ever notice. And then I got here my first week and everyone was laughing at me, making or like I don't know I yeah, I got humbled really easily and I was like, okay, yeah, I'm not that good, or just like I could understand everything, but talking or hearing, I don't know it was, it was a lot.
Speaker 1:I was really tired my first week here the just from having to yeah to like always being like on edge, like people would like mumble and I'd have to be like sorry, can you repeat? And then just like try not to have an accent. I gave up on that because I think I don't have one. Everyone always tells me I do, so it's okay it's a little bit it's okay, yeah, it's okay, it makes you unique.
Speaker 2:There you go, yeah, and you have to explain to the listeners why you decided to choose SFU. I should do a better introduction as well. Typically, I do it during, but we got a Paris Olympian in the Jeep. We got a GNAC athlete of the year, female athlete of the year, someone who we've been able to watch on TV over the summer months while you were competing in the 4x100s in Paris. Tell us about that.
Speaker 1:Okay, so Paris first.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's do Paris before SFU.
Speaker 1:Then the origin story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, once we get to SFU, then we'll get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, true.
Speaker 2:That's part of the drive.
Speaker 1:Okay, paris Dream come true. Obviously, like I think, everyone dreams to be an Olympian when they're a kid, but for some reason for me it had been kind of on the back burner, wasn't my next goal, but it kind of I let it happen. At some point I was like, okay, now I want to make it throughout the summer, after actually, I went to world relays in May, which I'm heading to tomorrow hence why we're getting you on the show, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:This is a time crunch. So once I went to world relays and kind of got a taste of the whole possibility, I was really locked in on the dream. But leading up to that, like I was just having a great collegiate season slash career and I was content with that. And then, yeah, one thing led to another and here we are. But Paris was really. Yeah, it was a dream come true and obviously I had high expectations going in. But I feel like usually when you events like this can kind of like let you down if they're like so overhyped on social media, and then you go and it's like okay, down if they're like so overhyped on social media, and then you go and it's like okay, it was nice, but this was like blown, blown away yeah like way better than what I expected went really smoothly.
Speaker 1:All like my family were. That was there. My best friend was there. Actually, emma went there with me, so it was just a dream come true. What can I say?
Speaker 2:yeah, if there was one moment, that was the cherry on top. There's just so many different ones, like obviously being on the, there was one moment.
Speaker 1:That was the cherry on top. There's just so many different ones. Like, obviously being on the track was one just by itself, like I can't. That's why I was there ultimately. So I'd say, being there and like seeing my family in the stands, that was like that was unreal. But just being in the village and like going out after, like just partying with everyone, and like celebrating yeah.
Speaker 2:Because you guys waited a week. You were training somewhere prior before getting there, right.
Speaker 1:Two weeks even. Yeah. So we, the relay teams, we went to London first to get a diamond league in as like our last big prep, and then we all the Canadian athletes were going to Barcelona for two weeks of training camp and then slowly people were leaving, and I was actually one of the last ones to leave, I think um, jerome also yeah, he was there like all the four by one. People stayed even longer. So then that was even like built up the hype even more because I could see everyone getting there. And then we went to Paris.
Speaker 2:I was there for a week in the end, and so we're going to keep this episode shorter than the closing ceremonies yeah, oh my god, did you hear about that? Just in the podcast that you did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with g-nax oh true, yeah, that was crazy. The worst part is I kind of knew it was going to be like that, because I've been to other like canada summer games, which obviously is a way smaller scale. But I kind of knew it could be like that and it was and that was disappointing. I was like, oh, you'd think the Olympics wouldn't be. But like, like I always say, like I would still go, I wouldn't. I'm glad I didn't miss it and if I had to do it again I would yeah.
Speaker 1:I think it's just. You know you have to.
Speaker 2:That's just the way it is tell me about that podium kit with lulu. Yeah, being able to rock that like.
Speaker 1:I wish I could have worn it on the podium, but our time will come, um, it was so sick like. I think that's one of my favorite the like.
Speaker 2:I guess it's a two-piece like favorite outfit, especially with the sleeves off right, I think that's so cool you gotta show off the arms I know the the pump um so when cover, yeah we.
Speaker 1:So we didn't wear it on the podium, unfortunately, but they made it, made us wear it for like interviews after the race and I was kind of scrambling packing my stuff for that. So basically, when we left the village before the race they were like, bring your podium kit in case, and I was like, okay, yeah, but I it was like last minute so I just grabbed it and then I realized I didn't bring the sleeves. So then when we did all the interviews after everyone's like full sleeve except for me, so I don't know Kind of gave it a unique look.
Speaker 2:Yeah, again, it's like the accent you got to stand out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly I always got to stand out.
Speaker 2:When you think about what you were able to accomplish at 21 years old getting to Paris competing in the Olympic Games, to Paris competing in the Olympic Games Was there moments along the way that you realized oh, this is something that I can actually accomplish, because I've heard you in podcasts. You said it here today. It was a dream come true.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is it a dream that you thought could be a reality one day? Like not, not really, or like kind of just go off of what you said about being 21,.
Speaker 1:Like oh, look, we, look, we're here yeah like definitely not at that age or like I don't know. I feel like, or I've heard people like get on the relay, pool younger and then kind of making their way up every year and then by the time they're like whatever 25, 26, even Audrey like obviously best, literally ever, but that was her first year like competing on the relay for sure, and like no one thinks that's weird because she just made her way up like year by year, so to kind of get thrown on there like my first year. I did not expect that.
Speaker 1:No, but that's like that's kind of what happened. It started with a like unplanned and then I guess I just proved myself. But yeah, that wasn't. I don't think anyone expected this also the the team.
Speaker 2:I know you obviously didn't get the result you wanted, but being able to watch the men perform, yeah, it was something that you spoke to. What was that like?
Speaker 1:honestly, to be honest and don't like cancel me. My first thought was like, oh, here we go again, like they're gonna steal our thunder, but no, because obviously they're so good and like they deserve all their results. Like they work as hard, you know, and I see we see them in practice like they deserve all their results. Like they work as hard, you know, and I see we see them in practice, like they deserve this result. It was just like for us, I think doing so well for the girl, like the women, was a big achievement and everyone was like oh, wow, like we had hadn't heard about them in a while. And now here they are. And then immediately the men won and I was like, okay, here we go back into the behind the scenes, but yeah, it was really cool to see that live and then to go on the track. I think that was sick.
Speaker 2:This is where I train every day so this is the training right here, yeah, and why did you choose us if you, as we're looking at it here, we're driving up, yeah, we're making people drive around us because we're the priority exactly you know, who we are. What made you decide to come out west?
Speaker 1:So basically that you know, like butterfly effect, I was a four hurdler in high school. So when I was looking at my options, like staying in Quebec just didn't sound appealing to me at the time and I needed a new challenge. Just because I was kind of done with the circuit. I was already competing at university meets when I was in high school. Just because that's the way it works in Quebec, they're kind of open. I couldn't imagine myself doing that for the next four years.
Speaker 1:And because I was a four hurdler, all the schools in Quebec are youth sports and in Canada except SFU. So I was like, oh, and youth sports only has indoors. So I was like if my main event is an outdoor event, it makes no sense to compete only indoors. So I was like 400 and four hurdles and USports is 300 and no outdoors. So I was like, okay, I need to go in the NCAA. But then I wasn't that good and my mom was like you're not going in the States, like no. So SFU was like you're not going in the States, like no. So SFU was like the perfect in between of NCAA and Canada, obviously, that's the whole thing, but like D2, that was a good level for me, my mom wasn't too scared and I could do the four hurdles. And then somehow I got here and Tom, my coach, was like you're never touching a hurdle again.
Speaker 2:Like, first of all, you're not that good and you have like way too much speed, so yeah, you can turn here.
Speaker 1:How did that feel, having your coach tell you a you're not that good and well, it's not. He was like you're not that good. He was like you're so good, don't waste your time on the hurdles. Because the hurdles I feel like I was a good 400 runner and I was. Because of that I could make the four hurdles work, but it was like unnecessary right, yeah, okay, and when you grew up playing other sports as.
Speaker 2:I've heard yeah was your strength? Always 400. Was that because of soccer?
Speaker 1:um, I mean, I actually lived here and that one's. Kelowna.
Speaker 2:Oh, your Kelowna location.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like all the, they all have a name. The dorms are called that.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay, yeah, fun fact Okay okay.
Speaker 1:Anyway, my strength was always being fast, like in those sports like soccer and stuff. But I think then playing soccer that kind of gave me like the stamina for the 400. So they, yeah, went hand in hand. And I played flag football too. That was my favorite, no way in hand, and I played flag football too. That was my favorite.
Speaker 2:No way, yeah, la 2028 let's go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if I'm done with track before, then why not both exactly?
Speaker 2:oh, true also yeah, that'd be cool. Wait, yeah, yeah, I never thought about it.
Speaker 1:I just I'm processing this yep.
Speaker 2:I feel like that you could totally do that that'd be really cool I mean, your track coach is gonna question it, but I'm gonna sit here right now today and say hey, if Marie wants to wants to do it, you gotta let her do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're right, okay, why not that's funny, cause when I yeah, so I do flag in the fall, and then I'd go to do track in the spring and my coach was like oh my God, your form sucks, cause I'd like run like this and like be way too low anyway. So that's funny, but I'm sure I could make both work now what's the like when you say your form's too low?
Speaker 2:like how often? Because people don't realize all of the details that go into. Yeah, running as a track athlete. I've learned over the past few years working with Miriam now yeah and I'm like just flabbergasted at how many details that you guys have to still think in when people are just like oh, you got to run fast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can beat you in a race. It's like, OK, I don't know if you know a thing about even how to run.
Speaker 2:And so how do you manage that? Because people obviously are like I think about world's strongest man, mitchell Hooper, and it's like, oh, you get to, you know, lift next to him and it's probably fun for you.
Speaker 1:People are like, oh, I want to race next to maria, but that's not necessarily like that's your job I know, yeah, yeah, no, that's when I go out and people are like, okay, let's go race. I'm like, do you realize I warm up for like an hour every time I do like one stride. It's like I can't just go race in like my anyway. Yeah, that's funny. You say mitchell hooper. I just saw him in cook whitlam like two weeks ago oh yeah, he was out at tap house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like ran into him the uh, yeah, he uh. It's been on the show a couple times now and we uh spent some time in victoria. He was bench pressing making me look silly yeah, I bet, yeah it was. It was a humbling experience, but that's part of the pod yeah, it makes him. I get to meet these incredible individuals like yourself.
Speaker 2:I get to train like finley knox, who's also a canadian olympian. He was down at ubc. I'm gonna go jump in the pool with him at some point. Maybe I'll warm up it for an hour with you and jump on the track. Warm up and I'm not good at that normally, but but you know, I know the importance of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:And yeah, I want to incorporate, like the training aspect, because a lot of people again don't realize the details that go into what it's like as a sprinter or as a track athlete and I'm like, selfishly, I want to learn. Yeah, exactly these things. Right, selfishly I want to learn yeah, exactly right.
Speaker 1:I think it's interesting too. Totally like it makes you appreciate even more when you watch the sport and be like oh, this is what they do, like all these drills before, and then that's how it happens yeah and oh.
Speaker 2:By the way, if I practice for the past 5, 10, 15 years the way Maria Louise did, then, maybe I'd be the same quality. Yeah, but I'm not. So I got a lot of work to do yeah, oh, no, oh, dead end.
Speaker 1:Or when people are like I always hear oh, if I trained more like this, I'd be like this and it's like well, the hard part is the training right everyone can say, oh, if I trained more like this.
Speaker 2:But it's like, oh, wow, this is the first time we've ever off-roaded here on the on the athletes podcast, but we're doing it here it's the first time for everything here. Hey, I, uh. I am curious, though. You just talked about flag football. When the heck did you start playing that?
Speaker 1:uh, I played in my second year of high school, which would have been grade eight okay um, yeah, and that was really humbling. You know how everyone kind of has a story of like a coach, that would just humble them yeah and be kind of a little too rude for the level that you were at.
Speaker 1:That was that was my story. I don't know why I like I was really fast, but it was my first year, so like my hands weren't that good, they weren't that bad, and he would just rip me apart at practice in front of everyone all the time, or like if we did a play in a game and it like messed up, he'd be like who are your worst hands on the line? Her, why did you throw to her? And I'd just be like, oh my god. So that was really humbling.
Speaker 1:And then we he got fired, actually because he was too aggressive in that case yeah and then we got a really good coach that could actually see me as who I was as an athlete, see me for who I was as an athlete, and then I actually became way better. And then I played in college in Quebec, which is like our pre-university did you do grade 13? Yeah, it's like it's called CJEP, so it's like two years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know yeah, so I played there um for a year only because then I came here. I didn't finish my CJEP, came here, but that year was really cool too.
Speaker 2:I was so jealous as a I guess what 18 year old when. I went out to Ontario to Brock for university and I ended up in a dorm like your Kelowna situation. Yeah it was called the queue and I was ended up with a bunch of guys who were a year older, who had just done grade 13 from Ontario. It's like, man, I could have used an extra year yeah, seriously, I, my mom and I talk about this.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we're like CJEP is so smart because then you go from high school but then you get have this like transition, two years where you're not exactly in university. But it also helps to like figure out what you want. Because basically, I came here my first year and I was doing science and I was like, okay, I know it's hard, but like I did it in CJEP and I know I want to do this, but all my friends that came here for their first year doing science they were like, oh my god, I don't want to do this, ended up like changing programs and then it like set them back so many years having to switch and like miss credits and stuff.
Speaker 2:So I was like, yeah, cgep is really smart to like prepare you yeah, I remember on one of the other podcasts that you did, you talked about the fact that you joined science is because it was hard yeah, you like the difficult things challenge yeah it's the. What is that huberman talks about? That, uh, prefrontal amygdala, whatever oh, really that's funny.
Speaker 2:You develop your muscle when you continue to do hard things, and it's a muscle that will continue to get bigger, stronger and allow you to like go into an ice bath, for instance, even though you know it's gonna suck and not be good. Um, so it's something that obviously you've acquired. You like to flex that muscle uh, what other sports did you play as a kid growing up? What's allowed you to be fast?
Speaker 1:uh, I think those were the only two, so really at some point. It was three though, because I did like track, flag and soccer like one month in grade 10 and I was like, yeah, that's not gonna work, but yeah, I didn't know no other ones okay, and are you taking a crazy amount of protein?
Speaker 2:like, how are you? Like, how are you surviving being able to fuel all these things when you're doing three different sports?
Speaker 1:Oh, back then, definitely not. I was probably not even eating a proper meal and just like candy all the time. No, that's not true, because I lived at home. But I like didn't think about it in high school and I think that was good. Oh yeah, like I don't know, as a high schooler you don't want to like fall into details too quick, because then it kind of drives you crazy and you quit right, okay but now I am more careful and I just started taking creatine.
Speaker 2:Actually, heck, yeah, it's pot pie powder nice. So my colleague at work, ari, showed up to him he put this tape on he made it ari, but it is, and we got some protein is this a good one? Yeah, yeah, this is perfect sports oh wow, this is the best products on the market. Marie Cool, we'll get you some.
Speaker 1:Okay, thanks. Yeah, I'm almost like it's really cheap, but I didn't realize how fast you go through it, because you have to take it every day.
Speaker 2:It's so worth it though. Yeah, it is Physical and mental benefits. Have you noticed a difference?
Speaker 1:Not mentally necessarily, necessarily maybe, but yeah, I'd say physically. Yeah, I feel more like sturdy, yeah, and like my friend Emma I was talking about earlier. She started taking it I guess like a year ago, and then she had a crazy season this year. So now we're like oh, don't sleep on creatine hey, ap15 saves you 15% at perfectsportscom.
Speaker 2:it it's no big deal.
Speaker 1:Good to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, ml hooks them up, we'll get to this? What kind of protein Are you taking? Protein too? How do you like what has changed with your nutrients if you're not eating candy anymore?
Speaker 1:I still eat candy, just not only that.
Speaker 2:Actually, that's a good question, because I got put on the doping kind of whereabouts program recently where I like get tested at yeah, have to update my thing every day. It's so annoying. I was one of those doping chaperones. Yeah, I'm the worst.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you'd come knock on my door at 6 am. Also funny story my time slot is at 6 am because that's like you know, I'm not busy right because I'm sleeping. But sometimes I update it and I'm like in Boston, whatever, and they'll come to my house at 6 a 6am like bang down the door and my roommates are like she's not here, why are? You waking us up, yeah so, yeah, that's annoying for them. I feel bad.
Speaker 2:But you would know, mo, uh, mo, I'm yeah, yeah, yeah so. I did that to his place at six in the morning with my prof Rachel. Corbett yeah, a couple years ago.
Speaker 1:Fun fact, honestly it's funny because then you like meet new people and you're like hey what do you do? He probably doesn't remember me from that moment, but yeah um, I was just gonna say after I got put on that I kind of started getting worried about, like, what I could take and all the like certified stuff. So I stopped taking protein because the one I was taking wasn't like I'm sure it was fine, but you don't want to take the risk right and I don't.
Speaker 1:I really try to make an effort to eat real protein and not rely on powder all the time, although it is handy, like after a workout, right away. So I am kind of on the lookout for a new one. So sounds like an ad I mean it's not.
Speaker 2:It's not not an ad, because jerome blake ended up becoming a perfect sports athlete afterwards. So I'm just saying it could happen.
Speaker 1:We might have to make some introductions. We might have to. I'd love that.
Speaker 2:Hey, it's only because we like to provide the best to Canadian athletes. Yeah, I'm a Canadian. We got to look out for our nations, and that's one of the best things about the Olympics. Though I heard you talking about the Aruba pin and I'm kind of jealous, oh yes, about the Aruba pin.
Speaker 1:and I'm kind of jealous, oh yes. Oh, my god, I wish I had my lanyard here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why didn't you bring?
Speaker 1:it Come on, he's so now I have to move all my because I'm moving back home and I'm just thinking.
Speaker 2:Are we going right straight? Yeah, you can go straight. Why so you're moving back home? Tell me more.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm.
Speaker 2:I'm graduating from SFU and Mom wants you back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, at least for the summer, and then we'll see in the fall, but I always go home in the summer. Uh, when I first moved here, everyone was like, oh, eventually you'll just stay in bc in the summer, which I'm sure is really nice, but I I love being home. So for the summer, that's the thing you can't miss out on montreal summer, and just like all my family's there, yeah, I did a montreal tour a couple years ago with the podcast nice and, uh, nice, and a farm athlete.
Speaker 2:Do you know that name?
Speaker 1:It doesn't ring a bell.
Speaker 2:I'll have to. And it's beautiful, yeah, and it's so lively it's so lively it was during. Covid, but it's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, energy is crazy. That's a big thing for me, like BC is really beautiful, but it just doesn't have that energy that I get at home, especially because, yeah, yeah, friends, family is the main part of the energy, but then everything around is just so cool. The go ahead, what's up? No, go ahead.
Speaker 2:I was just gonna say I'm moving home and now I'm gonna have like 10 suitcases, yeah. Yeah, you got your lulu kit, your knife.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they keep sending me more things. I'm like, no stop, I gotta move it back, but it's cool. I was gonna say it can't be saying no new product, new gear, yeah, why? Would you not say no, edit that out, yeah, well, what's the favorite?
Speaker 1:because their track athletes got two different for the olympics yeah right, yeah so because there's the like team canada sponsor, which was lulu, and then every sport has their own because, like, we wouldn't wear like speedo, right you know, for so stuff like that. So we got nike for the track and then everyone was wearing lulu in the village. Yeah, it was actually like not allowed to wear nike in the village. You had to wear like your your country sponsor.
Speaker 2:I was at harry jerome last year. Oh yeah, I want to go this year yeah, well, there's got a bunch of people liz gliedl's around, we'll get it. We'll get a whole crew going.
Speaker 1:Cool, okay, and then I'll have friends, because it's kind of scary going to new meets.
Speaker 2:We don't know anyone oh, how do you think I feel? Yeah, exactly on my own, with no one there. I'm just electric acceleration.
Speaker 1:Nice, yeah, there you go.
Speaker 2:Pioneer auto group, make sure, to check out the new plug-in electric vehicle jeeps. They're the best, like you said. Crazy acceleration, yeah uh, almost as fast as your 60, 100 or two meters, definitely not my acceleration.
Speaker 1:I have to work on that is that your? My drive phase is kind. I mean, I'm pretty tall, so I feel like it's okay that it takes me a bit more time to get up to speed, but if I can fix that, better watch out it's so interesting you bring that up because when I was with duane and Miriam, he was talking about his start too.
Speaker 2:I believe he needed to work on really, yeah, everyone does, and again it's like people who are non-athletic regular people will say or like non, yeah, yeah the nerves uh, or just people who don't sprint yeah regularly, which is like 99% of people over the age of 18. Now Something we're trying to change.
Speaker 1:Have you seen those videos that are like roommates sitting together and being like I've never seen you guys sprint at full speed? That's funny because my roommates and I have seen each other sprint at full speed countless times. But yeah, most people haven't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's a real problem though in our society, because people just don't move nowadays and they're not active, and hopefully they can listen to episodes like this, yes, and they can be inspired to go, move, run, get their training. What does your training look like when you're not on the track like? Are you running six, seven days a week? Do you lift weights, do you swim, do you sauna? Um, I definitely lift.
Speaker 1:Uh, I like swimming. I started swimming. Swimming is like also a way to humble myself, because it's hard and I try to be too good, too quick, like go too fast, and then I almost drown. So it like forces me to, you know, take it slow, one length at a time. So I like, I really like swimming. Um, I don't love hiking, but I still do it, you know it's good for you and it's nice exactly like it has a nice reward at the top.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I I think that's the main thing. Like you were like what you were saying is doing a bunch of different things and not just like just go to the gym or just run, because then you're going to be lacking some things you got to be a well balanced exactly I want to call this segment athletes in automobiles. Okay.
Speaker 2:We've had like almost four or five hockey players in a row, so it's good to get a track athlete back on here. Change things up a bit. If you were not a track athlete, what sport would you be playing? I guess you just kind of said it with the football.
Speaker 1:No, but that's different, because I know I can play football so I would enjoy it. But if I wasn't a track athlete and I had another talent like if I had it I would be an artistic swimmer.
Speaker 1:Oh, because I think that's so sick, and like my brain cannot comprehend how they do it. Like obviously gymnastics isn't like impressive, but underwater, yeah. And like no ground to like push off I. It blows my mind. So if I had that talent, like if I was already good, if I could, you know, transpose my skills, but to another sport, it would be that one heck, yeah, okay yeah this is. I love that very fully, it was 180 yeah, I was not expecting that at all.
Speaker 2:like I don't want to go fast and I don't want to be on the ground, no, exactly, I want to be flexible and, yeah, do crazy flips. Yeah, no, I like it. That is definitely not what I would want to do at all. What?
Speaker 1:would be yours, because what's your main sport? You would say Probably hockey or golf.
Speaker 2:Those are my two. I think it would be really cool to be good at swimming, I think it would be really cool to be good at swimming. I think that would be really cool.
Speaker 1:I'm not good at it.
Speaker 2:It's impressive, I do think it would be cool. I don't the arts part, I would just I throw that out the window.
Speaker 1:I think that's. That's why it's interesting to me, because I really don't have it. So if I could, you know, just get it Right yeah. Hey, run fast run towards this Literally in a straight line.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was one thing I did appreciate with Jerome too, when I had him on the show a few months ago is just the fact that he started a little later in his career and you can still be getting the results despite maybe different timelines when you start. Maybe you started a little younger. You specialized after soccer. Some people live track their whole life. Some people join track at the age of 20 or like andre, who was a couple years right like basketball right that's crazy.
Speaker 2:Do you? Do you see any similarities with athletes now as you spend time around them? You know sprinters track athletes all the time is there.
Speaker 1:Anything that stands out makes them the best athletes out there um, I'm trying to think I think everyone has like not the same story, but a similar story of like dedication to something and then they just like, like everyone is like driven to begin with, and then they just put that we all ended up putting that like drive into track, but no one's like yeah, I wasn't really trying, and then I just ended up here, like even my story of like I didn't expect it, but I was still like killing myself, grinding for something to happen, you know, or like having that drive and kind of being crazy I hear that a lot like you have to be crazy to be an Olympian. I think that's true yeah like no one.
Speaker 1:You meet on those teams is okay. Up there we're all crazy.
Speaker 2:That's funny. Two weeks ago we had Paris O'Brien on the podcast, who's the Chinese national goaltender.
Speaker 1:Like that kind of rings a bell yeah he lives out here too, oh really.
Speaker 2:That's cool, and I asked him if he had got the tattoo. Did you get it? Yeah, it's right here. Oh nice, how long did that take after? Was it right away?
Speaker 1:It was right away, because I wanted to get it done at home before I came here, so I was one of the first few to get it and I was like, oh, did I get it too early? But yeah. Then people started getting them like in the fall. But I got it done, like in August, yeah.
Speaker 2:Was there one moment that you look back on that you think, oh, I should have taken that in more. Like I'm always curious as I get older, it's like I'm looking from adults' perspectives when they're like oh, like you know, I spend time with my kids and it's like I want to be conscious of that as I get older now.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:For you. You seem very mature. Oh thanks and I feel like that was probably in part you've been able to absorb all of these incredible experiences. Anything stand out.
Speaker 1:I think like, if there's a moment I would have taken in more, like I wish I took in more Honestly, no, like I'm pretty proud of that that in Paris I really took the time.
Speaker 1:I think it helped having people around me like really reminding us to be like take it in. And even like Miriam raced a couple days before me and she was like I know we're always told when we went to big stadiums to really like lock in and not let the noise like you know, you don't want to get distracted right before your race by like oh my god, there's people yelling in the stands but she was like this time, take a moment to take it in. Yeah, so that really helped and I feel like I might have not if she hadn't said that, but I really did and I was still able to refocus, like I think it's just, you know, finding the balance of not like getting lost in the noise. But yeah, I really took that in. Like the stadium I went out after with my friends and we like really, you know, took the opportunity to celebrate ourselves, even though, like usually, like you know, you hear track athletes being like oh no, I never go out. Like this was the time to do it, and we did.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I made new friends Like well, obviously, miriam, like sharing a room with her was like definitely made the experience what it was. So, yeah, no, I'm actually content with how I took it in Heck. So yeah, no, I'm actually content with how I took it in. Heck yeah, especially for Paris.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's the best part. And then you traveled after.
Speaker 1:Not really Because my family was there. So we stayed like a few days in Paris, but honestly, I was so cooked, I was just, I was so tired I couldn't even walk and like I was, we were walking and I had to like stop and buy, like, buy, like flip-flops because my feet, after the ceremony, like standing for hours, like my feet, were gonna fall off my legs. So, yeah, so I was actually happy to come home, okay so yeah, I would understand.
Speaker 2:I feel the same way when you now have this event starting tomorrow what is this? What does this look like 24 hours ahead? Most people don't get to see the inside yeah like our nerves starting to hit for you. I just ran the 10k sun run oh nice how was that?
Speaker 3:well it wasn't my best effort.
Speaker 2:I didn't really train as hard as I should have, uh but you know what?
Speaker 1:we finished we finished, we're good.
Speaker 2:Uh, we have room for improvement yeah uh.
Speaker 1:I have no idea where we are, by the way. Okay, perfect, that makes two of us.
Speaker 2:I'm curious though like for you it's, you've got now you know you're jumping on a plane and you've got to perform To China.
Speaker 1:So that's scary number one. I think for me people would be disappointed, but not surprised that it looks like I have not started packing at all. So I have not. I just did my laundry. That's pretty good, so I haven't started packing. I'm definitely. Maybe that helps not being too nervous because I'm like, all right, I'm leaving tomorrow, should probably pack, so I don't have time to think yeah about the event just yet.
Speaker 1:Obviously, like I'm focused at training to get prepared, but I don't think it's necessary right now to be worried or at any point. I'm not going to be worried because I, you know, trust my training and my teammates, uh, I think, left here, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, now I'm just I feel like it's the exciting part, especially because we're going like a week in advance. So I know that once, even once I get there, it'll still be time to like, get used to everything. I feel like this time I might be more nervous about, like the jet lag. But yeah, I think I'm more nervous because I know usually I'm like too chill, I'm like, oh yeah, jet lag doesn't affect me. So I don't want to be that girl that's like famous last words and then get killed by the jet lag.
Speaker 2:There's apps out there that you can get.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it tells you, like you know, four days earlier to start sleeping.
Speaker 1:They did. I've been doing that, have you? Yeah, nice, but the thing that was confusing is because we have people going from the east and the west, so they told them to go to bed later and us to go to bed earlier. But then they were like never mind, you guys have to go to bed later. No, never mind earlier. So I was like, okay, there's a difference between going to bed at 2 am or9. So I think we had to go to bed earlier, otherwise I'll just blame it on them. But yeah, so I actually went to bed at like 10 last night, which is early for me, woke up at 7, made pancakes before practice crazy, the amount of time you have when you get up early are you normally asleep in kind of gal?
Speaker 1:like not really, but I usually wake up right before I have to leave right because it ends up being early, I. But I'm like some of my roommates if they have to leave at eight, they'll wake up at 6 30, watch their show, get their coffee, do their makeup.
Speaker 2:I kind of just get up and go roll yeah, roll out of bed, go forget everything hey, there's something to be said for making sure you get your sleep.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and I don't want to like lose too much at night, going to bed too early yeah.
Speaker 2:But I still get my sleep in. How do you treat? Do you have a morning routine, nighttime routine? Do you have any like specific things when it comes to nutrition that you follow Like I'm always curious? For me it's I've started incorporating a bit more carbs before my workouts. After my workouts, yeah, I eat a lot of eggs, like six to eight or twelve a day, a day interesting.
Speaker 1:It's kind of crazy? Definitely not.
Speaker 2:I have a couple scoops of diesel. Yeah uh, obviously the creatine, but, like for me, I'm always curious what other high performers are taking in well, now my night routine.
Speaker 1:I've added creatine. Do you take yours in the morning or at night?
Speaker 2:Doesn't matter, you take it at any time, any minute. Yeah, as long as I remember it, I'm good Really.
Speaker 1:Okay, I take it every night around 11 pm.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Right before I go to bed, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then I forget sometimes, how many night do you track it?
Speaker 1:no, I try to sleep between seven, at least seven, and then anything above. That is good. But like, obviously if I'm at a training camp and I can sleep nine, I will yeah but just with school, sometimes it's hard did you have Danielle?
Speaker 2:yeah? Yeah, so that's how I actually got introduced to Miriam really interesting yeah, yeah, so we, I had Danielle on the podcast oh, on the podcast. I need to talk to her about that yeah she's my girl, she's great she's everyone's girl honestly.
Speaker 3:Everyone loves her.
Speaker 2:It's so true yeah, she's just, you want to talk about butterfly effect yeah she's the one that can capture everyone that's crazy yeah because, yeah, miriam sees her at the hub like every week.
Speaker 1:I only see get to see her like once in a while on trips.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's the therapy piece. I went and got a massage on Wednesday after the sun run because my calf was rough. Yeah, yeah, it was not good. No, like Marie, we're talking.
Speaker 1:Road running. I don't do that yeah.
Speaker 2:We're talking from kilometer three on. I was hobbling.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh. From kilometer three on, I was hobbling, oh oh kilometer three on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, that's not even a third. Okay, yeah, no, it wasn't good. It wasn't good, but my ego got in the way and I kept running, had to finish it. Not a great time I'm sure there's people who searched my name up and they're laughing but again, room for improvement yeah, and. I was running in New Balance shoes because they sent me some nice stuff. I'm curious what brand you rock as far as running.
Speaker 1:That's funny Because I just started wearing A6. And now I'm like the girl at practice who's like, oh my God, this is so underground, no one knows about the A6, but they're so good. So I feel like I have to say that yeah, yeah, I've been kind of get into a6. They don't have like sprint spikes just yet, but I know they're on because I have a friend who's from japan, which I think their headquarters or something were there, and he has like a contact there and he's like, no, they're developing spikes. So I'm, yeah, room for improvement once again. I think with them it's just a process, but it's coming so you're on team a6 for now I yeah, I've kind of tried everything.
Speaker 1:I think new balance obviously I. We have addy at our school that's sponsored with new balance and friend of the show yeah, we're doing a run club you better be coming out well, I guess, if you're leaving, god wait, it's this week, every tuesday, every tuesday van city run club. I think the problem is that I don't run, I'm leaving.
Speaker 2:Well, we'll have you in as an honorary guest. Okay, good, yeah, that'd be nice. There you go, shake some hands, smile and leave. Kiss some babies. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, addy's New Balance obviously she's given me shoes before and like they're great. It's a great brand. They have a lot of good Canadian athletes right now. Okay, yeah and uh. So no affinity to like the adidas or nike growing up as a. No, obviously everyone loves nike and adidas and they're kind of like the brands that everyone wishes to be sponsored by. But I think when you come up as an athlete you realize that there's more to it and unless you're like an olympic champion, it's kind of risky to sign with big brands like this because you don't. You kind of want to be seen as a person first right, because not everyone's going to have like a perfect journey all the time and then you don't want them to be like oh, you had a bad race, you're done.
Speaker 1:Here's, give us your salary back so I think for me, at the point that I am right now, if you know, if I would consider a sign, well, first I'd sign with whoever wants me. But you have, those are things to consider, to be like. Do they see you as a normal, a human, before, just like numbers and times?
Speaker 2:right. One of the things that you brought up earlier was the playing ncaa or competing in the ncaa but still staying in canada, sfu being that only kind of school that allows for that. Was there a dream school that you had in mind, down in the states that you would have loved to have gone to?
Speaker 1:not really, because SFU approached me when I was in grade 11 so I hadn't really started like go on the SFU recruiting team yeah are you going right I?
Speaker 1:left here so I hadn't. They kind of sent me the thing and I was like also, like I said, I wasn't that good, so I wasn't really in a position to be like oh no. So I was kind of like oh, someone wants me, great. So I didn't do much research. Damn, yeah, wow, like I'm trying to think if I knew a lot of other people in Quebec when D1 Canada at that time.
Speaker 1:But because that's a dream growing up it is yeah, but I feel like I just had this idea in the back of my mind that it was going to go poorly, because I heard so many stories and I was like, oh, no, yeah.
Speaker 2:No, there are. There's terrible stories that come from NCAA that again before people were even being compensated as well, yeah exactly. That would have been way worse. Now, at least if you can make some money along the way while you're getting your education.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're not the track star, you're still like getting something out of it. But yeah, some crazy injury stories. My friend, one of my good friends, who's now on the relay team coming to china with us, katherine, she went to ucla. Okay, obviously that sounds like a dream school because you're in la training in the sun every day, the campus is beautiful, but yeah, still there, like she tells. It tells me stories that I'm like that would never happen at SFU, but okay oh my gosh, yeah well, hey, good thing you went to SFU kept mom happy, yeah, right, that's what matters.
Speaker 2:Great province yeah, it is great, yeah, and honestly like we.
Speaker 1:Obviously it's d2, so our championships are a bit different, but then that also allowed me to be like all American, which you know, I'm humble enough to say I probably wouldn't be in D1. So that and just being so humble. Yeah, just like we still go to all these meets. Yeah, basically that's the thing. Like so for nationals and stuff, we're in our own category. But then during the season, especially for track, like it doesn't matter where you are, who you are, you can race anyone.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so especially for track like it doesn't matter where you are who you are.
Speaker 2:You can race anyone, right? Yeah, so we still go to california. Yeah, you get all the perks of being ncaa exactly without.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's really is. It really is the best of both without the stress of a school shooting. You know, yeah, exactly or like a 100k tuition.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, also fact, my mom went to sfu so really nice a little affinity there for them. So, marie eloise leclerc, the way we wrap up every episode, we ask our guests their biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes okay, that's funny because I just went to high school um to kind of talk to their track team.
Speaker 1:So I'm trying to think okay biggest piece of advice, I think don't count yourself out. Work hard and always have fun. Okay, that's my biggest piece. It's coming back right here to go back to my house. Um, yes, always have fun. I think that's what kept me in the sport for so long and like what allowed me to have all these amazing memories, despite the results, because when I think of like my track career, I don't only think like I was so fast and so good. I think I had so much fun, met so many great people and it brought me to the opportunities that I got.
Speaker 2:So, have fun, work hard and don't count yourself out okay, and since you did such a good job here with the vlog style yeah, my arm. You need to shout out your social media pages because you do such a good job online I'm really trying.
Speaker 1:I just got some storage on my phone so I'm really grinding the reels. So my Instagram is Marie, two underscore Eloise E-L-O-I-S-E, and my TikTok is the same, actually, and those are the only two I have for now.
Speaker 2:Let's go Give her a follow. Thanks for listening. Hope you have a great rest of your day. We'll see you next week. Bye.
Speaker 3:All right, everybody that's going to do it for us today here at the Athletes Podcast. Really hope you enjoyed. Don't forget this isn't free. We do have the Athletes Agreement. We need you to like, follow, subscribe, Do whatever you can to support the channel. Again, it's a huge help. It lets us keep doing these awesome interviews, these conversations in cars with people like Marie. She's fantastic.
