News
Jacquelyn is racing at IMC to honour her Uncle Bruce
Posted May 29, 2009 10:12 AM
Jacquelyn Iffla (nee Neary) is an amazing young woman. Though only 26 she has raced numerous marathons over the years while juggling intense school and work schedules. I first met Jacquelyn in 2006 through the Running Room in Victoria, when she asked me to be a guest speaker for a Learn to Run Group. A few weeks later Jacquelyn asked me to be her coach for the New Balance 1/2 Ironman triathlon and I was thrilled to be working with such a talented and dedicated athlete. Though Jacquelyn moved away to Calgary at the end of that summer, she had already made plans to sign up for Ironman Canada 2007 and asked me to continue on as her coach.
After IMCanada 2007 Jacquelyn's plans revolved around her upcoming wedding in May of 2008 and while she continued her running schedule and raced some more marathons, triathlon was put on the back burner for the foreseeable future.
All of that changed at the end of April this year, when Jacquelyn's beloved Uncle, Bruce Bowman who lived in Victoria, unexpectedly died from a brain aneurysm. Bruce would have been 60 this year, and was signed up for his second Ironman race in Canada.
Jacquelyn contacted me with the idea of racing IMC in Bruce's place to honour his memory and to fundraise for ALS research, a cause dear to Bruce's heart. I suggested the best route would be to plead her cause directly to Joe Dixon, the Ironman Canada race director. Joe was very sympathetic to Jacquelyn's request (as he knew and respected Bruce) and, amazingly, was able to authorize the transfer of Bruce's race entry to her.
Jacquelyn has started a blog to track her journey to Ironman Canada. I know it will be a wonderful blog and full of emotion and insight. I wanted to put the word out, so that those of you who know Jacquelyn (and those who will come to know her through the blog) are aware of its existence.
I am very honoured to be Jacquelyn's coach again this year.
