216 results for author: Colin Harris

Day 22 – 28.71 km (total – 397.51 km)

My dad grew up in Hamilton and was the oldest of 3 brothers.  He was active and played football… ended up playing for the farm team of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for a brief stint until an injury led him down another path in life.  So I suppose some of my athletic genes can be attributed to him!  He became a runner later in his twenties and every day for the last 45 odd years, he has woken up at 4:50 am to run (one of the few qualities I don’t take after!).  There have been short periods where injury has sidelined him or he won’t wake up until 6 am to start his day, but at age 70, he still enjoys his morning run around Assiniboine Park in ...

Day 21 – 21.2 km (total – 368.8 km)

I HAD SO MUCH FUN TODAY!! I started running this morning, and my legs felt completely back to normal (relatively speaking for trying to run 7300 km) and I was able to get in about 15 km before the snow started coming.  I’m not sure if it’s always like this in Newfoundland, but it doesn’t just snow for an hour or two and then stop.  It just keeps snowing and snowing.  I debated calling it a day, as the highways were getting messy, but it was only around noon and my legs felt good.  After some good lunch, I ducked off the TCH and started running along the TCT (Trans Canada Trail) with Koona.  The snow was accumulating quite quickly, ...

Day 20 – 17.6 km (total – 347.6 km)

On this beautiful Saturday morning, I was able to get back on the TCH and get in some miles... and in the video blog today, a long overdue and oft requested featurette tour of the RV - a 1984 Chevy Citation - home for the next 8 months!

Day 19 – day off (total – 330 km)

Today is Friday the 4th, but if feels like it should maybe be Friday the 13th.  I wouldn’t admit to being that superstitious, but you now when you feel like luck is not on your side?  We left the hotel this morning to discover the RV had a flat tire.  That took about 3 hours to fix.  And as the RV was just finishing up having the tire put back on, it had a little “accident” with the roof of the tire place.  A few new holes in the RV and the back corner ripped up pretty good… a fun day off for sure! Over the past decade of working in the field of outdoor education, I have met so many amazing individuals… individuals who not only ...

Day 17/18 – 14.3 km (total – 330 km)

It’s been a frustrating last couple of days to be honest… I have been lucky enough to be injury-free the vast majority of my running career, but the last few days have been rough!  The good news – my IT band is feeling good.  The bad news – while ducking into the bushes the other day, I somehow pulled a muscle in my left leg.  When I gave walking a go yesterday, I started getting shin splints as well!  So, we found a hotel in Gander and decided to get out of the cold and be warm for a couple of days and rest.  In the course of these 9 months to come, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to take a few days to recover from a little injury ...

The Packet – Clarenville, NL

Colin Harris joked when he got to Clarenville Middle School that the persistent, 43 km/hour wind and the -15 C bite in the air Tuesday morning reminded him of his hometown, Winnipeg, Man. It’s not the kind of weather that would make most people lace up their running shoes and go for a little jog. But, Harris isn’t most people. The 36-year-old is running across the province to inspire kids to get outside and get active through his “ Take Me Outside” campaign. “Canada has one of the best back yards in the world,” Harris told 400 students at the middle school. “Use it!” he urged. Harris will finish his cross-country journey ...

Momentum Magazine

Kathleen Wilker of Momentum Magazine was kind enough to write a terrific article discussing the TMO project and the importance of getting children outdoors.  Please take the time to visit the Momentum website!   Colin Harris of Take Me Outside is running across Canada.  He's visiting kids in classrooms and sharing his get outside, get active and reconnect with nature message. Colin says, "When I was growing up, social networking happened outside.  But today's youth are spending more than 50 hours a week in front of screens...playing video games, surfing the net, texting and watching TV.  This sedentary lifestyle is leading to...a ...

The Beacon – Gander, NL

Students at Gander Academy had plenty to ask Colin Harris when he paid them a visit Monday morning, and for good reason. It isn’t often you get to meet somebody who’s running across Canada. Mr. Harris, who’s from Haliburton, Ont., left historic Signal Hill in St. John’s on Jan. 10 to start his run across the country. He’s stopping in various schools along his run to Port aux Basques to express the importance of living an active lifestyle, and to hear what students had to say about the topic. He wasn’t interested in talking for the entire time - he really wanted to hear the students’ stories so he can share them with other students in ...

Day 16 – 24.5 km (total – 315.7 km)

It's time for another video blog!  After being on the road for over two weeks now and some 300 km under my belt, I wanted to look back and share the first day with you as Sarah and I experienced it!  It was a memorable day and one that is sure to always make us smile.  Thank you very much to Holy Family School for the memories, additional video and pictures

Day 15 – day off (total – 287.2 km)

We said a tearful goodbye to the Walmart parking lot this morning and made our way to Gander Academy.  This is the biggest elementary school east of Montreal.  It has over 900 students K-6 with about 7 classes in each grade.  This school visit came up last minute and because of their schedule, I had the chance to chat briefly with a few of the grade 4/5 phys ed classes. I have a little story I tell students, but in a small group like this, it’s really an opportunity to try and engage them in some conversation.  And it’s quite remarkable how enthusiastic they are!  When asked if they like being outside, there is a firm nodding of heads and ...