Run!
I was shocked when the City phoned and asked me if I would like to be the final torchbearer for the Edmonton leg of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. I said, "Well, when is it?" No, I'm kidding. I said that I'd be very honoured to do that. It was exciting.
Then I watched the start of the relay out of Victoria, on TV, and saw Olympic champion speed skater Catriona Le May Doan take the first leg of the torch. Just watching them bring it over on the canoes and the presentation...then the cauldron wouldn't light at first – they were working it around and around until finally it flared up. It brought tears to my eyes. I got very emotional. It's wonderful. I was quite moved by it.
Before the relay's start, at the end of October, I was doing my regular workout at the Kinsmen, finishing up with my usual walk/jog on the track – run a lap, walk a lap, that sort of thing – and I suddenly thought, "Holy cow, I've got 3 kilometres to get together." It's 300 metres, but I kept thinking 3 kilometres. So in my mind I'm going, "I better lengthen out this run."
It ended up I didn't walk/jog. I jogged and jogged and jogged, 'cause I've got to get up to 3 kilometres. I was looking up to see how many laps in the kilometre – it was printed above the track – and I thought, "Oh, this is stupid, I'm only running 300 meters!" So I stopped and walked. Then I thought, "Well, I'll have to start running with a weight in my hand so I can hold the torch up high."
When the City called, they asked me if I'm running or walking or did I need a cart or anything.
"Run!" I said.
If I have to I'll walk...but my pride won't allow me to do that. I'm terrible. I'm still competitive with myself. Oh yeah, I'll just hold that torch up like it's nothing. I know I'll get emotional. It has such meaning to me. I'm getting teary just thinking about it.
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Doreen Ryan
Doreen Ryan is an Olympic speed skater and lifelong Edmontonian. She skated for Canada in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the City of Edmonton’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1965. In her spare time, she managed Canadian track and field teams attending the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Pan American Games, and also the athletes’ villages for the Commonwealth Games (Edmonton, 1978), the World University Games (Edmonton, 1983), and the Olympics (Calgary, 1988). A small corner of the City is named in Doreen’s honour. It's called "Ryan Place" and is situated on the corner of Rabbit Hill Road and Terwillegar Drive in Edmonton’s Riverbend neighbourhood.
