What they say about being the smartest person in the room also goes for the strongest; and while that concept of strength doesn’t have to be literal, when you find yourself surrounded by some of the greatest athletes in the world, it is. I walked away from my first Pan Am experience inspired to push harder and be stronger in every way possible, a feeling that will carry me far as I train for my first triathlon and half marathon later this year.

It didn’t hurt that before Nike treated a select group of us to Pan Am’s Track and Field finals, we completed a few short speed intervals that ensured we appreciated every effort laid out York University’s stadium. (Although perhaps we thought we knew more than we actually did at times, hahaha.)

We were especially honored to watch Canada’s very own Phylicia George as she competed for a medal in the 100m hurdles portion. She had consistently shown her support when we trained for Toronto’s first Nike Women’s 15k race, so it was incredible to be able to do the same for her. And then she answered all of our 101 questions on the ride back into the city. Check out Donnovan Bennett’s article detailing some of the highlights from this brief trip.

The Find Your Fast challenge just stepped up a notch in my book.