Get to know the the crew behind the H+P logo

Posted by & filed under 2019.

The Health + Performance leaf with H+P logo is omnipresent during ENDURrun. This running and multisport club, centered in Waterloo, Ontario, partners with Run Waterloo all year long, but it really goes to the next level in August.

It’s incredible to note that in a record year for our race, close to 2 in 5 athletes across all finishers are representing H+P. That’s why race photos can sometimes look like club runs (see above, 2018 Stage 4)!

We interviewed head coach Dr. Sean Delanghe to get a sense of why, and what ENDURrun means to the club. We hope to give other clubs insight on what is working so well for H+P!

What does ENDURrun mean to the club?
ENDURrun has definitely been a staple for H+P almost since the inception of the club. With the variety of stages and different ways we have been able to set up fun competitions between our members, it has been an invaluable way to bring our athletes of all abilities together to compete and have a goal that helps springboard into performances for our big fall races.
We also like that this event gives us the opportunity to showcase some of the hidden demographics in the club. For instance, sometimes the masters women get lost in the shuffle of big races. But, when they all get together and hammer on one team proudly labelled the H+P Masters Women, people can see how deep and fast that part of the club is!

Can you give us a sense of the scale of the team this year?
I know that we had close to 20 Ultimates this year before some dropouts and that we have 12 relay teams consisting of 84 athletes this year. So if they all finish, that would make 52 relay teams all-time. Really though, these numbers aren’t a goal, they are more a symptom of how much fun we have training together, racing together, and specifically how much fun we have at this incredible event.

Continued below this collage from 2018

Why do so many H+Pers volunteer during the week?
Honestly, it’s just because we have amazing members who have fun being involved and giving back to a community that gives so much to them/us. We don’t actively discuss or apply any pressure to recruit volunteers. We just have super awesome people in our group who have decided on their own that they want contribute to making life better for all while they/we suffer through this grueling event!

What are the club expectations this year? What are you looking forward to? Any good battles (individual or relay)?
There is so much to look forward to! All of our A-teams are chasing event records. We have some serious contenders on the women’s side in Val, Rebecca and Vicki. We will have two men battling for a podium spot in Aidan and Nick. We are also excited to see how much some of our athletes have improved. There are a number of longterm members like Will (no pressure) who are primed to blow previous performances out of the water. We also have some fun battles between our evenly matched teams like including Team Boss vs. Team Dalton that will be exciting to follow. We also have some stacked B and C teams involved in team battles and chasing the teams ahead of them.

When will we see the H+P coaches in Ultimate?
In terms of % chance they will do it in the next 5 years, I would say:
Nick Burt 100%
Kayla Ng 45%
Mark Cullen 35%
Emily Hunter 11%
Gillian Willard 10%
Jan de Visser 2%
Sean Delanghe 0.1%
In other words, it’s much easier to make a plan for somebody to race the ultimate than to execute it. Respect to all of you crazy people!

H+P at ENDURrun

Those 52 teams Sean mentioned would be 45% of all 116 relay teams to finish ENDURrun since 2004. This for a club founded in 2011.

H+P athletes have won the men’s title once, the women’s title three times (twice defending in 2019), and hold the all time record for women’s relay and men’s and womens’ masters relay. They also sit fourth all-time for relay, less than 10 minutes behind the record.