don’t tell her she can’t do it all
Hi! My name is Grace, and I am a hybrid athlete with SCE!
My athletic journey started when I was 15 when I began CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting. I competed at the National level for Olympic Weightlifting from 2018-2024. Coming out of the 2024 Canadian Weightlifting Senior National Championships, I had 2-3 injuries simultaneously, and was facing some pretty crappy mental blocks within the sport. I needed a change.
During the summer of 2024, I started running, and transitioned into doing more CrossFit/Hyrox-style workouts in the gym. In July of 2025, Kalli reached out to me and said she would like to start programming for hybrid athletes, and asked if I would be one of her guinea pigs - and I jumped at the chance!
When I started working with SCE, I kind of felt like I was at a point with my running where I couldn’t get much faster, I thought I was too short and carrying too much muscle to gain much more speed. Turns out I was VERY wrong.
Week after week Kalli would program track sessions and long runs that I didn’t think I would be able to do. I’d look at the paces and panic. And somehow (still not quite sure how), I would be able to do them. I was surprising the heck out of myself every single day in training. I never would have believed I could have done many of the workouts Kalli has programmed for me over the past few months, but it was her belief in me and my abilities that kept me going.
Over the past few months, I’ve had two races that we have prepped for:
Hyrox Atlantic Championships - 1:02:31
This was an unexpected event. I had placed 6th at the Hyrox Atlantic Series in July, and it was only the top 5 that when to the Championships. However, someone had qualified at multiple events, so I was called up to compete. At the qualifier, my stations were the strongest, and I was just hanging on for the runs. But for the Championships, after working with Kalli for a few months, I was able to push the pace on the runs and show my strength at the stations as well. The Hyrox Atlantic Championships were so much fun (other than the burpee broad jumps), and it was a turning point for me - I realized I had much more speed in the tank that I had previously thought.
Valley Harvest Half Marathon - 1:52:04
My goal for this race was sub-1:55. The valley half was probably not only the best race I’ve ever done, but just the best run too. Kalli and I had planned for negative splits, starting at around 5:35, and working down to sub 5:25 as I went. I was scared when we set these paces, I didn’t think I’d be able to hold them.
The race started and I was somewhere near the 1:55 pace bunny, my first km was 5:32…and I felt damn good. So I picked up the pace a little. And I kept feeling good. My average pace the whole race was 5:19, and I felt INCREDIBLE the whole time. I put this down to a combo of all the gritty and rough speed sessions I had done, and the massive quantity of carbs I had on board. I honestly felt like I was flying, and there were barely any points (other than maybe the last km) that I felt like I was truly suffering. It was so exciting to see all the hard work pay off, and to know that I have so much more in the tank. It was honestly the most chill and fun race ever, and the whole time all I could think of was how grateful I was to be able to be out there running.
I PR’ed my 5k/10k/21.1k during the Valley Half - it went so much better than I could have ever imagined, and I put that down to all the work Kalli and I have done over the past few months.
I’m now at a point where 5:30km’s feel like an easy pace, and if I don’t run for a couple days I get antsy. Weightlifter Grace from 2 years ago thinks I’m a little bit crazy…
I have a few goals for next year; 2-3 Hyrox races (mix of partner and solo), CrossFit Open, some crazy 5k/10k/21.1k PR’s, and maybe even throwing a lifting competition in there…you can tell I have a hard time picking just one sport!
The most amazing thing is, Kalli is so adaptable to my training and my goals (and my life - I am currently finishing my Master’s in Physiotherapy, and Kalli has been so adaptable with my school schedule too). She is also the most darn supportive human, and believes I can do much more than I believe I can. I know no matter what type of race or competition I have coming up, I will be more than prepared!
