Local TV Producer Finishes First Place in Kingston Duathlon

YourTV Peterborough made news of its own as producer Dan Malta finished first place in the Kingston Triathlon’s Duathlon, travelling over 40 km on Sunday.

Second-place finisher Marty Thehunter (left), winner Dan Malta (middle) and third-place finisher Francois-Michel Guitard (right) on the podium after completing the short course duathlon. Photo courtesy of Dan Malta.

Malta competed in the short course duathlon that consisted of running 4.2 km, biking 30 km then running another 7.2 km. He finished each leg in 17:45, 55:32 and 31:23 respectively and finished the race in 1:46:59.

“I ended up winning with a five-minute pad so I guess I was lucky to be the fastest person there on that day,” said Malta. “It felt great though. My mom Kathy and my fiancée Katrina were there at the finish line, it was nice to have them there cheering me on.”

Kingston Triathlon also featured the short and long-course triathlon that included swimming events. Photo courtesy of Dan Malta.

Despite not getting much running experience since elementary school, Malta took a long and progressive path to train for long-distance races.

He said he started mountain biking from his north-end home to Trent University and went from there.

“In March, the pandemic hit, I had just bought my first road bike off Kijiji for $200 I had no idea what that purchase would spark as bikes and cycling are now an obsession of mine,” explained Malta. “I had a lot more time on my hands due to the cancellation of the OHL season and Katrina (Malta’s finacée) mentioned to me she likes to go for runs.” 

Malta (left) with fiancée and Global News anchor Katrina Squazzin (right). Squazzin became the first female colour commentator to broadcast a professional women’s hockey game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Photo courtesy of Dan Malta.

Malta recently competed in the Ironman 70.3 in Muskoka, finishing with a time of 5:40:23 on July 9.

“When I signed up, I knew I could complete the 21 km run distance as I complete them pretty regularly and I knew I could complete the 90km bike as I do those regularly,” said Malta. “But the swim was pretty intimidating. I enjoy jumping in the lake and swimming around but had never attempted a swim of any distance, I’d also never tried swimming laps in a pool.”

With the racing season dying down, Malta says he is likely finished competing for the year but looks forward to participating in more events in 2023.

“Triathlon, duathlon and cycling races are the closest thing I’ve found to feeling I got through competetive sports in my youth,” he explained. “I get to compete with myself,and I get to compete with others. I just wish I’d discovered the sports sooner.”

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Local Teacher Earns NYC Marathon Spot While Outpacing Mental Health

It is an opportunity very few people get but Julie Vallières has been selected as one of six Canadian teachers to run in the New York City Marathon in the fall.

Vallières has been helping her students battle mental health issues since 2015. She serves as the school’s cross-country and track and field coach. Photo Courtesy of Julie Vallières.

She was selected as part of Team Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) who pick 50 North American teachers as representatives.

Vallières submitted her video application to TCS with her story, how running helped her teaching and why she should be picked. She promoted running as a way to help with mental health issues her students were facing at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School.

“I’m glad I get to be with people with the same passion for running,” she said. “It’s nice to gain some mental strength from running long distances.”

TCS supports physical and mental health among children and provided Vallières and other selected teachers with integrated technology education resources for easier teaching.

She learned about Team TCS from Niels Walkau, a local colleague and friend who participated in the marathon two years prior.

Vallières constantly trains, running four to five times a week to prepare for the 26.2 mile-long marathon. She has participated in several running events or marathons as part of her training regime.

The event is not set in stone for Canadians since border travelling is still in limbo from the pandemic. Vallières is hopeful that the world will have enough normalcy to allow her to participate.

“I’m hoping by then, everything will be good,” she explained. “I’m keeping a positive mindset here and we’ll be out of the woods with vaccines and stuff.”

Vallières plans to bring her family to watch her run at the marathon. Her children are eligible to participate in a 5-kilometre run, the day prior to the main event.

Last year, the NYC marathon was postponed but Vallières was able to earn a medal in their digitized version through an app.

“It will be a great experience for all of us,” she said. “It’s about the people that support the community. I know it’s a great experience and I want to be able to share it with my family.”

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When A Marathon Was Cancelled, Two Peterborough Men Created Their Own And Raised Vital Funds For One Roof

When the Ottawa marathon they were slated to run in was cancelled due to Covid-19, Peterborough friends Peter Laurie and Javier Bravo (Peter teaches at Fleming College, and Javier is Student Recruitment Coordinator there) turned all their training into something positive for the community.

They ran their own marathon on Father’s Day from Peterborough to Omemee and back, and turned it into a fundraiser for One Roof Community Centre, raising more than $2,300 so far. Supported by family and friends, they were able to run the marathon on one of the hottest days. (It was the 2nd marathon for Peter, and first for Javier.)

Javier & Peter (photo by Cathy Bolan)

"We were already well into training for the Ottawa marathon by the time it was cancelled, and there was no question about whether we would keep running,” Laurie tells PTBOCanada.

“We decided that if we were going to train through a pandemic and then run a marathon, it should also be about giving back. When we contacted One Roof, they were thrilled that we were taking them on as the focus of our fundraising. In little more than a week of publicity via Facebook and Instagram, we had raised over $2,300.”

Photo by Cathy Bolan

"The day of the run itself was forecast to be brutally hot, and it truly was, with a high somewhere north of 30 C,” Laurie tells PTBOCanada. “Even though we started early Sunday morning, things got hot very quickly. The last half of the marathon, which involved running back from Omemee on the Trans Canada Trail, felt like a war of attrition as we worked hard to stay hydrated.”

Photo by Cathy Bolan

Given the extreme heat, the friends say without the help they received from family and friends, it's unlikely they would have been able to complete it.

One friend, Bill Templeman, served as their nutrition and hydration support, riding his bike alongside Javier and Peter for the entire route and setting up mobile drink stations every few kilometres. In addition, Laurie’s son drove to Omemee to meet them at the halfway point, where he dumped cold water over their heads to help cool them off. Other family members and friends were also out on their bikes to cheer the men on at different stages of the route.

It was truly a team effort—and a community effort with the vital funds raised for One Roof—turning this into a marathon of creative ingenuity these men will never forget.

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