If you’ve been to any races on the Vancouver Island in recent years, you’ve probably seen a really fun, energized run club called Badass Chicks Run Trails. It was founded by a group of first responders who discovered a shared love of trail running to help manage the personal strains caused by challenging work lives. From humble and almost accidental beginnings, the group has grown into a strong and positive running community. Founder Nikki Jomha joined the show to share the club’s philosophy and her own incredible story!

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Dec 7 – 22nd annual Prairie Inn Harriers Stewart Mountain Challenge - https://pih.bc.ca/race/12-stewart-mountain-10-mile-5-mile-cross-country-challenge

Devil’s Ladder - registration opens Dec 5 - https://devilsladderultra.com/

Island Trail Series – full series registration opens Dec 5 - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/

Island Race series registration - https://www.islandseries.org/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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On our third episode, we talked to Chris Sundby just before he set out in mid-September to run the length of Vancouver Island in 14 days, with his mom acting as his lone support crew. More than 700 kilometres and three pairs of shoes later, Chris completed his epic journey right on schedule, and now that he’s back from the wilderness and (mostly) recovered, he rejoined the show to tell us all about it. And he brought his mom Sylvia to talk about her experience too!

His epic adventure raised more than $24,000 for Jacob’s Well on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and you can still donate here: https://www.jacobswell.ca/chrisruns

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Nov 11 – 29th annual Prairie Inn Harriers Thetis Lake Cross Country 20K relay - https://pih.bc.ca/race

Nov 22 – 41st annual Gunner Shaw Classic - https://pih.bc.ca/race/3-gunner-shaw-memorial-10k-cross-country-classic

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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Two years ago, Julia Loglisci decided to make some major lifestyle changes. Along with a new dietary approach, she started weight training, practicing yoga, and walking. Those walks started to include some light jogging, and eventually the walking intervals disappeared as she found a love of running. Julia recently completed her first half marathon and joined the show to talk about her health journey, what running has meant to both her physical and mental health, and how it has positively impacted many facets of her busy life as a small business owner. You can find her photography work at www.julialoglisci.com/.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Nov 9 – Partridge Fall Classic 8K - raceroster.com/events/2025/111240/partridge-fall-classic

Nov 11 – 29th annual Prairie Inn Harriers Thetis Lake Cross Country 20K relay - https://pih.bc.ca/race

Nov 22 – 41st annual Gunner Shaw Classic - https://pih.bc.ca/race/3-gunner-shaw-memorial-10k-cross-country-classic

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us at islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram at @islandmilespodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen McArthur is the owner/operator of The Crazy Cookie House in Metchosin. It’s a small shack with a roof shaped like the sorting hat from Harry Potter and surrounded by mythical creatures including a wooden dragon named “Doug H”. Her cookies have drawn local media and social media attention! Helen is also a passionate long-distance runner and decided that she wanted to run a marathon on each continent, and she’s close! She ran the Sydney (AUS) Marathon in late August, leaving just Africa.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

October 25 – Qualicum Bay 11K/26K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/

Nov 2 – Boundary Bay – 5k/10k/half/full - https://www.tryevents.ca/boundary-bay-race

Nov 11 – 29th annual Prairie Inn Harriers Thetis Lake Cross Country 20K relay - https://pih.bc.ca/race

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us at islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram at @islandmilespodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With RVM week finally here, we know many will be experiencing some race anxiety. And if you've never strapped on a bib before, or you’re racing at a new distance, then you're swimming (running?) in unchartered waters. But fear not! The Island Miles gang is here to talk race preparation and execution to help get you race day ready.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

October 19 – CEEVACS Cowichan Autumn Classic - https://www.ceevacs.com/cowichan-autumn-classic/

October 19 – Edge to Edge half/10K in Ucluelet - https://www.edgetoedgemarathon.com

October 25 – Qualicum Bay 11K/26K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us at islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram at @islandmilespodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Sundby grew up on Vancouver Island and now lives and works in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, working with Jacob’s Well, an organization that provides support to the most vulnerable members of that community. Chris is back on the island, and beginning September 15, is taking on the insane challenge of running from the southern tip of the island all the way up to Cape Scott at the northern end to raise money and awareness for Jacob’s Well. It’s roughly 800 kilometres, and he’s giving himself just 15 days to accomplish it! This was an unplanned bonus episode, because we just had to talk to him before he headed out. Good luck, Chris!!!!

You can follow Chris’ journey on Instagram: jacobswellyvr/ or chrissundbyruns

Track him on Garmin! https://share.garmin.com/sundbyruns

Donate here: https://www.jacobswell.ca/chrisruns

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A free Clover Point 5K every Saturday at 9am? Sign us up! It's called ParkRun, and it actually happens at roughly the same time, every Saturday, all over the world (including Shawnigan Lake and Courtenay). Sean Mitchell and Natalia Seal join the show from the ParkRun team to share the ins and outs of this cool event and the inclusive community of runners it has created. You only have to register once to get your unique barcode and can then take part in ParkRuns wherever your travels take you! Find them online at https://www.parkrun.ca/cloverpoint/ and on Instagram at @cloverpointparkrun.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

September 14 – Terry Fox Run – several island communities (https://terryfox.org)

September 27 – Perseverance Trail Race – 3K/6K/12K (https://www.perseverancetrailrun.com/)

October 5 – CIBC Run for the Cure – Victoria and Nanaimo (https://tinyurl.com/4rpk5e7m)

October 11-12 – Royal Victoria Marathon – Kids Run/5K/8K/Half/Full - https://www.runvictoriamarathon.com/)

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us at islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram at @islandmilespodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.