Day 1 - Sarnen to Luzern (26 km - Alternate)
 Day 2 - Laufen to Basel (31 km - Alternate)

See Susan runs!

Hi, I'm Susan and I am a 48-year-old mother of 4 children. I work full time as the office manager of a multi-disciplinary natural health clinic - Integrative Health Group in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am an avid tennis player, love to read and work in my garden and spend time with my family and friends.

When I first heard from Suzanne, our Swiss friend and travel consultant of Creative Western, about the possibility of putting together a team for the gigathlon I laughed. In looking over the 5 events it was clear to me that the best contribution I could make would be to drive the support vehicle! I am not a swimmer, I have never even been on roller blades, I am a fair weather cyclist who doesn't like hills and I HATE to run. Don't get me wrong, I am quite athletic and when it comes to chasing a tennis ball I can run with the best of them, but running just for the sake of running seemed like the ultimate bore.

Whether at work or play, Susan makes sure she runs 5 to 6 times a week.

In November 2004, a few days before my 48th birthday, it was brought to my attention that the nature of our team would benefit from having a female alternate in case one of our members became injured and was unable to participate. Looking over the events I determined that running was at least something that I was able to do and so I agreed to begin training... despite my hatred.

Much to my surprise an interesting thing has happened. I began very slowly and had some help from a personal trainer who set out a program for me to begin to build up my stamina for the longer runs. I am now running 5-6 days a week and feel quite perturbed if something keeps me from getting in my run. As my trainer told me, "the only thing worse than running, is not running". Another wonderful benefit has been that I am seeing the wonderful city of Calgary in a whole new light. Check out Tourism Calgary.

Ahhh... a good stretch after the run!

We have amazing bicycle and running paths woven throughout our beautiful city and those early morning runs along the Bow River with the sun coming up and birds flying overhead are not to be missed.

My talented son Jeremy is definitely still the #1 runner on the team and I am the alternate. I am getting excited about seeing Switzerland in July, and even if I end up driving the support vehicle and massaging my teammates' aching muscles I have now added a new dimension to my life and I am excited about that.