Coaching and Competing - A Fine Balance

Forced to withdraw from the Manitoba Marathon this summer, twenty-seven-year-old Cathy Cullen turned a disappointing experience into a positive coaching opportunity.

As the defending champion, Cullen felt the pressure to repeat her 2007 win. Despite her spectacular performance at the 2008 Boston Marathon, where she finished in a time of 3:04:23 and was the top Canadian female in her age group, she became ill a few days before the Manitoba Marathon and was unable to finish the race.

“I see this as a chance to teach my athletes that sometimes as an athlete, you have bad days where it doesn’t all come together, but you have to pick up your socks and look forward to the next time,” said Cullen, who believes that being an athlete helps her be a better coach.

“When your athletes see you perform well or go through challenges it is an opportunity for you to demonstrate role model behavior,” said Cullen, who was also one of two recipients for the Canada Games Apprenticeship Program for Women Coaches in Manitoba. This program matches a Canada Games coach with an apprentice coach who will have the chance to be part of the team’s Canada Games Coaching Staff next summer in Prince Edward Island.

“It’s a great opportunity to be part of the Canada Games team and to experience a higher level of coaching,” said Cullen. “My goals with the program are to learn more about training tools and how to introduce them into my training group – things like GPS, heart race, and recovery.”

For more information about the Canada Games Apprenticeship Program for Women Coaches in Manitoba or for other coaching opportunities call Coaching Manitoba at 925-5669 or visit their website at http://www.coachingmanitoba.ca