A Life of Living and a Little Bit of Running

Ever since I was young, I had a dream that I would be great at something. I tried many team sports with not much luck. Fortunately I stumbled upon running. I joined the Durham Dragons track club in my grade 10 year (2014) from an invite by a school friend. Jumping into the first practice, I would always remember that if you were new, there was no slowing down. You either joined the warmup at the prescribed pace (4:30/km) or were dropped. Fortunately, it was the former for me. That resilience stuck with me.

I entered my last year of high school with lofty goals (top 10 at OFSAA xc and qualify for track OFSAA). Unfortunately, I fell short. I lost a shoe in the start of OFSAA cross country to later finish 21st¹ and just missed not qualifying for OFSAA track and field. I ran 4:02 and 8:39 for the 1500m and 3000m and finishing 5th and 6th respectively at the qualifying meet². I was heartbroken but even more motivated leading into my university year.

Taking things seriously

I knew engineering was the program, but the school came down to McMaster and Western. With my sister going to Western and their accolades as a track/xc program, it was a really tough decision. I made a strong connection with coach Paula Schnurr immediately and my gut instinct knew there was something special in Hamilton.

I am constantly reminded that this was one of the best decisions of my life and to this day I am thankful for it.

I adjusted pretty well to university life and to be honest, really loved it. We had an amazing incoming rookie team with some older guys who had experience and a willingness to work hard. I didn’t have a vision or many goals. I was just genuinely excited for this next chapter of life.

Training clicked right away. I moved away from more speed/less volume approach I used in high school to more tempo/threshold and longer interval type workouts. I knew that I had some natural talent and paired with the right programming, I knew that I could succeed. Coming into my first year I was really committed, rarely missing a prescribed run, running 5-6 days a week averaging close to 100km.

I ran my first university race at the University of Buffalo, doing an 8km cross country on a flat golf course (something I wasn’t used to). I finished 5th in a time of 25:10. Not bad for my first outing. We finished 2nd as a team with our top 5 runners all finishing in the top 16.³ 

I would later finish in the top 5 in every race that season as a rookie. This secured my spot for our top 7 championship team for the provincial (OUA) and national (Usports) championship.

Despite the challenges of engineering and living away from home, I felt really well supported. The culture from the older guys on the team, a committed coach, and friends that wanted nothing but success for one another. I was grateful to be able to make friendships that to this day are still with me. Alex Drover, Sam Nusselder, and Ryan Were would all stand beside me 6 years later as I married the love of my life.

First year was truly a movie. I made my first national team and raced internationally, medaled at OUA’s, and passed all of my courses.^4,5 Life was good.

Formative Years

When 2nd year came around, I was ready to set high expectations. I had ambitious goals and a solid summer of preparation. That cross country season culminated into our team winning the OUA championship in 2018 and with me finishing as the first individual overall.⁶

We knew we had something special, with a roster of 5 guys being 3rd year or younger. We finished with our first national medal for McMaster Cross Country since the 1960’s, placing third. ⁷

A Little Bit of Faith

My parents raised me as a Christian. We would attend church on and off, with summer bible camp being the staple and highlight of the summer.

In high school I struggled to connect with my faith, often choosing the easier and most common path, following whatever was cool at the time.

Ever since I was young, I knew that God had a call on my life. One that was purposeful and missionful. It just took a bit of faith and trust in the people around me and a church family that would love and care for me as a brother, to be able to express it.

I found Lift Church in early 2019 after an invitation from a close friend. I attended regular simple churches (weekly rhythms of dinner, scripture, and life with other believers), Sunday church service, and just life on life with other people that love Jesus.

My love for people grew as I was surrounded by people that had a desire for the mission of the Gospel and to serve one another as Jesus served us. I would soon meet my future wife and some of my best friends that I still live close to and see regularly to this day.

Throughout all this, I was still training and competing. God was continuing to bless me with the gift of sport and I continued to be faithful to his mission. Not out of necessity or guilt, but by the abundant love of Jesus.

Up and Down

Year after year, our team battled for that top spot at nationals. We were able to secure a 2nd place finish at nationals in 2019,⁸ but the end of that school year would ultimately be cancelled with the start of covid. 2020 was a tough year with harsh restrictions on training and gathering; along with a fully cancelled varsity season.

There were many lessons to take from that year off, but ultimately it gave us a year to reset, train, and continue to build the vision towards taking home the national championship title.

2021 followed with some strong performances. My teammate Andrew Davies won the OUA individual championship giving our team a close 2nd place finish to Guelph. Then on Les Plaines d'Abraham the boys would cap off their cross country season as the third team in the country, with to say the least, disappointment.⁹

A Fairy Tale Ending

We knew that one of the points in our journey would take us to Flagstaff, Arizona. The 7 thousand foot, oxygen poor running town would be the stay for the boys for the month leading into our final cross country season in Aug 2022. Driving three days from Hamilton, ON to Flagstaff, AZ had some of the most breathtaking views of my life. Despite the lack of sleep on the way there, that month would turn into some of the best memories of my life. From running on trails forged by the best endurance athletes that ever lived, to spending an afternoon with your best friends staring down the Grand Canyon. I will never forget this trip and I am truly blessed that all the pieces came together at the right time to be able to do this.

Coming back to sea level, not only were we feeling the surplus of oxygen, but we were licking our lips, eager to get the season going.

Our top five felt unstoppable. We went on to win the Western meet by 22 points with a score of 47¹⁰ and our home meet with an incredible low score of 18 (perfect score is 15)¹¹. Not only were we entering provincials and nationals as the top team in the country, but I was undefeated individually against any collegiate athlete that season. We all felt the pressure, but the years of experience made us resilient and confident.

Through all of this, I continued to stay faithful. I would continue to lead a weekly serving initiative in downtown Hamilton. We would give out food, water, and clothing and get the opportunity to share the gospel and pray for people downtown. I was involved with leading a weekly simple church; discipling and doing life with other faithful brothers. Sydney and I were engaged and were starting to plan our wedding. Life was busy, but it was clear to us that our faith in Jesus and commitment to our church would not take a back seat.

Calm in the Storm

The last few weeks heading into my last two collegiate cross country races, sleep was hard to come by. I was fortunate to have a strong support system rallied behind me, and Matthew 6:34 was already written on my heart: “Seek first his Kingdom, and all should be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

My coach Paula would always be a calming source in tumultuous times. Her “business as usual” line before races would often calm my nerves and be a gentle reminder of “You have already done this a million times before, you will be fine.” Paula would be and still continues to be an anchor in my life; always being available for running and anything else. I truly believe the reason Paula is a diamond in the rough and one of the best collegiate coaches in Canada, is not necessarily her programming (and she’ll admit that it's nothing special), but her willingness to commit to her athletes and serve them wholeheartedly. I cannot remember a time where she missed one of my workouts, both during university and afterwards.

Icing on the Cake

OUAs 2022 would finish similarly to how I started in 2017. However, this time it would be golden with an individual and team win. Not only did McMaster finish in the top 3 individual spots and win with an overall score of 20 points, but I got to win alongside my bestfriends. Our top five scorers would finish in the top 8.¹²

Two weeks later we were off to nationals in Halifax. With cross country, there was no shortage of wild weather. With a massive storm on the forecast during both the Men’s and Women’s races, Usports 2022 would be no exception.

I preferred running in bad weather. For some reason, I would feel more calm. I knew that everyone would have to deal with it and it was a much needed distraction.

The race began with massive gusts of wind and pouring rain. One of the corners during the race was so muddy that it led to one of the athletes breaking his foot. I still remember having to grab a tree around the turn so I wouldn’t go sliding down the hill. Fortunately, after the first two laps, the pack started to thin out and was really down to a few of us for the win. I continued to look around during that race to make sure my teammates were nearby so that we could secure the overall team title. Cross country would always be first and foremost a team sport, something to this day that is still my favourite part of running.

The last lap came down to about 3-4 of us and I knew that it was time to make a decisive move. Coming down the hill with about 400m to go, I accelerated and never looked back. I crossed the line first, winning my first national title, becoming a Usports champion; and then proceeded to slip, fall, and dislocate my shoulder (I wish I was joking). Fortunately, it was able to be quickly relocated with the help of an orthopedic surgeon in the crowd (Alex’s dad). As I winced in pain from my humerus being displaced back into my glenoid cavity, I would learn that we were national champions, winning both individual and team gold medals. ¹³

I finished the year off qualifying for Worlds Cross Country in Bathurst, Australia making my first ever Senior Canadian team. Out of all the places I have traveled for running, this was by far the most adventurous and memorable. Sydney was able to join me on this trip, and I was fortunate enough to have some of my family and friends that live in Australia make the trip to Bathurst to watch me race. I am eternally grateful for the experiences and places that I have been able to visit because of running.

Dreams become Reality

        There was really no doubt in my mind that post collegiately I would continue to pursue running. Summer 2023 was filled with graduating from engineering, wrapping up my collegiate track and field/xc career, starting a full time engineering job, and marrying my beautiful wife. It was nice to have a little down time away from the sport and invest in family, church life, and friendships.

The summer winded up quickly and I began a training block to target some key races with the main focus at the end of November. The race was Athletics Canada Cross Country Championships and a spot on team Canada to compete at Worlds Cross Country in Serbia. The bulk of my sessions involved joining the McMaster cross country team on grass once a week and running infinite loops at the famous Bertram road circuit. Fortunately, I could fit in most sessions without much issue (I was working remote), but we were living on the mountain, making it a much longer run to my workouts (30ish mins) along with limited trail access. I really didn’t appreciate all the resources as a varsity athlete until I lost them, so that was quite an adjustment. I continued to click off weeks of training; with a successful Half Marathon debut at Toronto Waterfront (62:49) and a win at the 2023 Road2Hope elite 5km (14:02).^14,15 That season would end with an 8th place finish at nationals XC and managing to secure a spot on my 2nd Worlds XC for the senior national team.¹⁶

In the back of my mind, I wanted to pursue running at a higher level, but I had bigger dreams. I really wanted to secure a shoe sponsor. Unlike most sports that have a governing body, (NHL, NBA, NFL etc.) the pathway to becoming a “professional” runner, was getting a shoe sponsor to support you. I knew I wasn’t at the Olympic level, but I had the determination and ultimately knew that it would require some work on my end to advocate and promote myself. I reached out to a few shoe companies with no avail, but fortunately my coach was able to connect me with the sales director at Puma Canada. Through many phone calls, I was able to secure a contract to help with product and some expenses with races. Although it wasn’t the flashy contract or signing you would see on tv, it was a dream come true. Something I will remember for the rest of my life. So thank you Puma, the support has been incredible.

Last One Fast One

        2024 and 2025 were full of many running memories and wrought with some challenges. Some highlights included running World XC in Serbia (definitely an interesting country), running my pb in the HM (62:45)¹⁷, finishing second to Andrew Davies at National Cross Country¹⁸ (ughhh), and visiting Dr.Drover in Calgary.

To be honest those two years were tough. Not only was I balancing a lot, I was struggling with injuries that prevented me from training at the highest level. I was reminded that small details matter and I would often pay for it with a few weeks off of running a few times a year. I knew mentally the training was taking a toll on me. Shifting from doing everything with a team and with my best friends beside me, to running alone all the time was hard. It reminded me that although I loved running, I really loved the by-product of running. The cultivation and development of relationships. Running brought us together, but our friendships are what kept us together.

With running, I was always someone that was either all in or not. I was not okay with just training at a sub-par level, and not being able to compete with the top guys. This meant a lot of sacrifices and little flexibility. A day in the life for me most days would be a run in the morning (often with Kyla once she was 6 months), work all day, run after work or do a workout, and try to fit in some core/strength twice a week. I would cycle in two workouts a week with a long run either Saturday or Sunday. Some weeks would be around 100 miles with the majority of weeks between 80-90. It was a lot. I was also juggling responsibilities at work, church life, friendships, husband, and father. Knowing that being busy meant training could be negatively impacted, I truly believe my balanced life allowed me to perform at the level I did and I have no regrets.

I finished 2025 healthy but coming off a very long injury cycle. I even resorted to getting PRP injections in my achilles in order to make a full recovery. I made it back running for a few weeks before the end of the year, but of course we ended up in the coldest winter of my life. Last winter really tested my mental fortitude. A lot of my sessions were run in the dark and in -10 celsius or colder. I definitely will not miss that.

2025 was the year I became a father. It was a pivotal moment for me and really made me rethink my relationship with sport. Through prayer and multiple conversations with Sydney and family, we decided that 2026 would be my last year of races. Although a very tough decision, I knew in my heart this was where God was leading me. I knew that my life would continue to be abundant without racing.

We penciled in a bunch of fun road races in 2026, heading to California to race the Carlsbad 5000 (fun fact: it used to be the race that held the road 5km world record) where I finished 5th in 13:54.¹⁹ Canada treated me well with a win at the Spring Run Off 8km in High Park and a win at the Toronto UA 10km.^20,21 Things were clicking well, but I wasn’t running any pbs. I was just trying to enjoy every moment (despite still having that competitive nature). I hated losing more than I loved winning.

May 3rd, 2026 would be my last race. It was a half marathon in Vancouver (my favourite road race), and I was fortunate to have two of my close friends, my coach, and my wife and daughter join me for the trip. It really was that fairytale ending, winning by over a minute in 63:28²² and getting to enjoy some of the best views in Canada. Crossing that finish line with emotion but a feeling of peace. God has blessed me so much and continues to remind me that my identity is not in sport but in Him. My life is and continues to be abundantly blessed.

To the people that have congratulated me, walked (or ran with me), followed me through this journey, to my family, wife, friends, McMaster University, teammates, church, coach Paula, endless doctors/physios/chiros/massage, Durham Dragons, agent Stephen, Puma (Stephen). Your words are written on my heart and memories will be unforgettable. Thank you.

P.S. If you are ever in the Hamilton area, I am always down for a run. You can catch me at a local meet, road race, rail trail. I’ll always be running and will always love it even though it might look a bit different for now. And to those who I think I am washed, don't worry I am only one workout away ;)

Max Turek