Aaron Putman

Team Running Free Alumni

Age: 0

Member Since: 2010

Occupation: Medical Sales

Home: Ajax

About Me: I owe my love of running to my wife. I started in 2008 by trying to help her train for her first 1/2 marathon. Before I knew it I was melting away and had more energy. The kids loved it as I would push them in the running stroller. I figured that I might as well get into running since in a round about way I was doing it already. Instead of pushing too hard I decided to just do shorter races the first year. 1/2 marathon's the second year, and then try a full marathon the third year (which I said I would never do since they take up too much time to train). The people at running free have made it a blast and I consider my fellow runners like family. I look forward to many more years of running together. I have now found my love for biking as well by joining friends in their IRONMAN training. It turns out I have a natural ability for that and my bike is actually stronger than my run. I plan on doing more duathlons in the future to be more competitive.

Sports: - Tennis - Running - Duathlon - Mountain biking - Basketball

Athletic Goals: - I have accomplished my goals to date. I am happy to have won a few races including a double du at Lakeside. Making it to the World Duathlon Championship and being the fastest Canadian at that race was a great moment for me. Now my focus is to just go out and have fun. To try to not focus on winning as much but more the adventure.

My most catastrophic racing experience was: Running the Hamilton Marathon my second time. I had plantar fasciitis going into the race with my left foot. At 12 K it really acted up. I must have compensated without knowing. At 23K my right foot hurt as much as my left foot. At 32K my right foot hurt worse than my left foot. At 36K my eyes we watering from the pain. I just wanted to get the race done. I had a 2 or 3 minutes in the bank going for a 3:05 marathon. I continued on thinking to myself that the sooner I finish, the sooner the pain would stop. I did get my 3:05 but after the race had to go to the doctors because both feet we really swollen and my right foot was badly bruised. It turns out I partially tore my right plantar muscle which is why it hurt so much. Now I have plantar fasciitis in both feet and am not to run due to the partial tear for 8 weeks.

My most memorable racing experience was: Winning both the Lakeside Sprint Duathlon, then winning the Lakeside Olympic Distance Duathlon on the same weekend to complete the "Double Du". - Competing at the World Duathlon Championships and being the fastest Canadian that went (as obviously I am not the fastest Canadian). t pushing it harder and harder. I finished the bike and had yet another fast transition. I headed out on the last run and when I didn't see anyone by the turn around I figured that either the person I was chasing was amazingly fast on the bike, or I might actually be in first. Lucky for me I crossed the finish line to hear that I was first place overall! It was a cool experience to be up on the podium as the race winner. I think chasing the ghost actually helped me! lol A more recent memorable moment was completing the Double Du at Lakeside by coming in 1st overall for both the Sprint Du on Saturday followed by 1st overall in the Olympic Du on Sunday. The Sprint I took seriously as I wanted to compare myself to the year before when I qualified for the World Duathlon Championship in Australia. I ended up being around 3 minutes faster so that gave me confidence for the Worlds. The Olympic distance on the Sunday was just for training on dead legs. I even went to a wedding the Saturday night and didn't get back to late. The Indian food I had at the wedding tasted great but caused me problems. I only made it to the starting line for the Olympic Du in time to take off my warmup gear before the horn went off. To end up winning that event as well was amazing. The World Duathlon Championship was likely my favourite memory of all. It was great to be part of an awesome team and compete against so many top athletes. I actually ended up being the fastest Canadian who raced the worlds that year! Didn't win, but had a blast!

Favourite Racing Gear: In the winter, I LOVE my Ice Breaker 200 shirt. Keeps me warm and doesn't stink once it drys! Mizuno Elixer; Ice Breaker shorts, CW-X Compression shorts; Gramin 410 XT. Can't live without ReSkin (great product to prevent friction)! I am also a big fan of Zensah compression socks. I love my i-Pod but now that I have joined Running Free, I hardly use it anymore. Catching up with fellow running friends is a much better way to pass the kms.

Favourite Race: EndurRun

Favourite Race Food: Favourite Food: Pizza (post race) Favourite Drink: Taislim (Chocolate Flavour) - Great for after long runs! Favourite Gel Chocolate Outrage GU for taste, but e-Load Gel works best for me.

Member of: Team RF - Ajax