Meet the 2010 runners!

Fiona Savage


I am a seasoned runner, having run for 36 years now! I started in early high school as a track and field participant, went into cross country and then competed in my first 10 km race in 1981.  And so it began....my LOVE of road racing.

My daughter Morag was born on Oct 30, 1997 and from there I continued running marathons and completed the first one, a year after Morag's birth.  Being a single parent most of my training was done with a running stroller.  The longest one was a 3-1/2 hour run.  That cost a lot of treats!!!

One of the highlights of my life, other than the birth of my daughter Morag was running the 100th anniversary of the Boston Marathon. In a word, spectatcular. 


Natasha Mantifel

I began running in 2005 and was instantly hooked. Since then I've run many half marathons, four full marathons and completed my first 70.3km Ironman! Despite these successes, I have run races where I have struggled
Run with the Sun, a day filled with friendship, determination, strength and with a like goal to help others; all while doing what we love to RUN!  This day will bring each of us our own personal reward and memories, I'm looking forward to it all and to each step along the way!

Diana Kuzmina



I have justed moved back to Toronto after travelling for serveral years and wanted to do something challenging to welcome myself back.  As soon as I heard about the run I knew that this was it. My background is high performance paddling, but I didn't get into running until a few years ago in Calgary when I signed up from a trail race.  I was instantly hooked and have ran ever since then.  Just training for this has been amazing for me and I can't wait to share this run with others on the team.


Paul Bredin
Paul is a member of the senior staff team at Mountain Equipment Co-Op and a Strategic Advisor to S.O.S. Together Inc. He is an avid outdoorsman having spent most of his summers as a kid at Kilcoo camp, including a few in his senior years running the tripping section, as well as a few summers guiding whitewater tours down the Ottawa river. He rediscovered his passion for running in 2003. Since then he has completed 5 marathons and 6 half marathons. My ultimate running goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon in the next couple of years - I've been close but its going to be a challenge. However, an even more important goal of mine is that together we can raise a significant amount of awareness and money for the Canadian Cancer Society. My father went through a tough couple of years with cancer which was a very difficult time for our family. We were lucky and I'm hoping that our run and efforts together will make a difference for many families in the years ahead.


John Chipman
John is a producer and documentary maker with The Current on CBC Radio. This year marks a decade of marathons, but Run With The Sun will be his first foray into ultra distances. Everyone he mentions it to looks at him sideways and says he is insane. Like the rest of the RWTS runners, John has been touched by cancer, although thankfully not within his immediate family or circle of friends. His mother lost two of her closest friends to cancer in the past seven years.

"I love to run. I love the discipline it takes and the sense of accomplishment you feel after pushing your body to the edge of its limits. So I'm really excited to be doing Run With The Sun ... to run further than I ever have, while raising money and awareness for cancer research at the same time."


Mike Chipman
Mike is a firefighter with the City of Brampton. He has completed 17 marathons and numerous triathlons since taking up running after university. While he has never completely stopped, Mike's running has been a lot like the road that he runs, lots of ups and downs. He hasn't qualified for Boston yet, but feels this might be the year (or next). He has participated in other charitable events, such as Team In Training where he ran the Anchorage, Alaska marathon in memory of a friend who succumbed to leukemia.

"Sean and Paul have done a remarkable job in marketing RUN WITH THE SUN. While not everyone sees the logic in running from Barrie to Toronto, everyone can understand the noble cause behind it. I'm excited to be a part of it and look forward to sharing the the pain and anguish of 92km with my fellow, somewhat crazy, runners".


John Christie

Jay seen here with Olympic champion, Marnie McBean,  is fixed income specialist with Beutel Goodman and Company Ltd.

A competitive runner in his formative university years, Jay looked forward to a leisure life of golfing and relaxing on various Danforth Avenue patios in his later sporting career.  Unfortunately others seem to have different plans.  He took up half marathon races 10 years ago on a bet which led to 3 marathons cumulating in Boston in 2006.  His advice to all is "if someone asks you if you are training for a marathon keep quiet, you just might end up running one."

"I decided to join Sean, Paul, David, Bob, Rolf, John, Mike and Fiona and the entire RWTS team as it is a great cause to believe in.  Both my sons were born at Women's College Hospital and I recently lost a close family member to cancer.  That combined with a love for running, a need to walk while golfing and to round out the number of runners to make a charity baseball team has me pounding down the pavement from Barrie."

Jack Hill



Jack Hill has been running marathons and half-marathons for the past 10 years and this is the first long run that he is contemplating.  Although other runners say that it is easier than a marathon we shall see.  Jack is a real estate agent with Harvey Kalles and been involved in the real estate field for over thirty years (and hopefully a little longer after this run).  He has two kids one lives in Shanghai and is expecting and the other paints murals on buildings (legally) all over (Toronto, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Barcelona and a few other places that cannot be mentioned to protect the innocent.)  Jack also canoes in Algonquin Park with Rolf and family and enjoys a cottage there (when he is not running.) 

Sean McSweeney
Sean is the Assistant Manager at Mountain Equipment Co-Op . A former wilderness guide and competitive whitewater paddler Sean has returned to his first sporting passion running. Sean completed his first 20km race when he was only 8 years old and has had a passion for long distance running every since "Like the tortoise in that kid's story I was never the fastest but I liked to run for a really long time".   I am more of a "complete versus compete" type of guy who likes to have fun and enjoy the experience of participating in events. But ultimately running is a bit of a selfish thing and for me RUN WITH THE SUN was inspired by combining a selfish activity with something more altruistic. My wife had a brush with skin cancer 5 years ago and I really wanted to do something to both celebrate her survivorship and contribute to the fight against cancer. It's good to have everyone join us this year to avoid the mistake Paul and I made the first year of getting lost on Yonge St.!


David O'Brien
David runs his own law practice focusing on tax litigation, real estate and estate matters. He marked the completion of his law degree from UBC Law School in Vancouver by running his first marathon. Having completed the 1985 Vancouver Marathon, he resolved that it would be prudent to actually do some training before attempting another. 35 marathons later, he has earned the moniker "Durable David" from his running partners as he has been fortunate not to have suffered any serious injuries. He hopes to run in Boston again sooner rather than later.

"I have run 2 RUN WITH THE SUN events and have returned to run again this year because it is a symbolic event that celebrates the strength and courage of cancer survivors. For marathoners, the long training run with a group is that unique opportunity to push physical limits while connecting with a disparate collection of individuals who share a common goal. RUN WITH THE SUN takes that a step further: we hope to raise cancer research funds and awareness while doing something we love to do."


Rolf Paloheimo
Rolf is the President of Creative Communities Research Inc. Creative builds demonstration projects, renewable energy projects and develops water reclamation systems. His accomplishments include being runner up in Canada's National Efficiency Awards (1999) and having a project featured on a postage stamp (1997). Rolf is the author of three patent applications, one granted and two pending in connection with water reclamation technology. He is hoping to get clients that are dedicated to living lightly on the planet.

"I started distance running just a few years ago after my dad was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. He later passed away and I dedicate most of my long runs to him."


Gavin Wardle

Gavin is a health care research consultant. Gavin has been running for 5 years and has completed several half-marathons, a couple of 30km races, and handful of triaathlons.  Gavin first heard about Run with the Sun 3 years ago and has been quietly plotting his involvement ever since.  Having run, jogged, walked, limped and lurched through a single marathon, Gavin feels he is finally ready.  Gavin is especially keen on Run with the Sun's fundraising objectives. His family has been hard hit with cancer; he lost a mother and stepmother to cancer and his father-in-law is a cancer survivor.  On June 21st, Gavin will be hoping for steady tail-wind and will be thankful for the (somewhat) downhill slope of the course.