David lives in Windsor in Ontario, Canada and has made a regular trip to New York City since XX. Two of his favorite things to do while visiting are 1) see shows on Broadway—he’s seen an impressive 18 shows—and 2) run with City Fit Tours. He’s run with us so many times that this past December, David ran his hundredth City Fit Tour mile. He usually goes out for more than the standard 5k distance with us, so he’s accrued this amount of miles in 10 runs since 2018.
Many memories in 100 miles
One of his most memorable experiences was running and came across the legendary Holcombe Rucker Park basketball court (many who’ve played in the “Rucker Tournament” have gone on to play in the NBA, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant). He was so excited to see this iconic cout that he asked his guide John if they could stop and shoot some hoops. But no one happened to be playing ball at that moment, so in order to take a shot, David went into a nearby bodega. He said they must get this kind of request all the time, given their proximity to the court, because while he wouldn’t ordinarily expect a corner store to have basketballs, this one had plenty. So he bought one, tore it out of its box, and took his shot.
Shout out to his many NYC guides: Dina, Jillian, Mike, Tara, Rachel, Joseph, and Melissa. “I’ve developed friendships with them; we follow each other on social media and still keep in touch.”
Reigniting his love for running the streets
Given he’s hit 100 miles in NYC, it may not surprise you to hear that David calls himself a “street runner” but he’s also done 10 ultras. “I've done everything from a 5k to 100k and every distance in between. But trail running is more solo. It was gorgeous, but I think after I ran through New York—how exciting that was—I was like, this you can't beat, this is kind of crazy. When you do street running, you’re more engaged. It got me back into street running and since then I've done mostly street races.”
Some may find it surprising to learn that David considers a marathon to be more challenging than a 50k (about 31 miles), but hear him out. “I find the full marathon way harder because you race a marathon. You go to a marathon with a goal time and it's stressful. A 50k you’re kind of kickin it, eat pizza. It’s a lot more relaxed. But I found the full marathon to be the toughest race I've ever done.
A runner without borders
From his home in Windsor, David has become a bit of an ambassador for runners between his city and nearby Detroit, Michigan. “I run in Detroit two or three days a week during the summer.”
I interrupted to ask, “Do you show a passport every time?”
“Well, yeah,” David said. “From my house, I can be in Detroit in 15 minutes. So I run with about three or four groups over there. We've built a community. Windsor and Detroit have come together in running for the first time. We're starting to go over there; I'm trying to bring people there. So, my Detroit friends love Windsor. They love that we have a beautiful waterfront. It's been really cool, this international community.”
He’s been so inspired by his international running that David has started a running group called The Dub City Runners (you can follow in Instagram). “We have a group run every Friday and get together for drinks after at Walkerville Brewery. We are very involved with local community events and have a good running relationship with our American friends across the river.”
When I remarked how neat this was, David said, “I love people. So it's fun to me.”
