We all know that one runner pal who humble brags about their intense training regimen on social media in the lead-up to a big race, but Luke Doucet seems to take a much more chill approach to running. The singer-songwriter (and one half of Whitehorse) successfully completed a half-marathon in Ottawa this past Sunday (May 28) — just a few hours after performing at the kick-off concert.
That's right, dude took the stage to play a special Saturday night concert for Ottawa Race Weekend, then ditched his rocker apparel for running gear the next morning. He ran the 21 km half-marathon in an hour and 19 minutes, finishing 21st out of more than 13,000 participants.
Speaking to CBC's As It Happens, Doucet drew a connection between the adrenaline he feels performing onstage and the rush he gets from running races.
"You can work pretty hard on a rock'n'roll stage and not really notice it until the next morning or some hours later because the adrenaline takes you a long way — and I guess, in that sense, rock'n'roll has a lot in common with running," he said. "You can feel three days before a marathon or before a race that you're heavy and sluggish, and you don't have any game in your legs, and then the minute the gun goes, the shot of adrenaline is really quite something."
He explained that he took up running as a means to counter some of the less-than-healthy habits that come along with rock'n'roll life, adding that he makes a point to explore new cities by sneaker when he's on tour.
His success during Sunday's race wasn't a total fluke, though. Doucet has been training with champion runners Rob Watson and Lanni Marchant, and was paced this past weekend by Olympian Eric Gillis — a team that he fully appreciates puts him on par with the type of coaching that typically only professional runners would have access to.
"It's almost like I brought a gun to a knife fight," Doucet said. "I don't deserve this degree of support."
Despite his impressive finish, Doucet maintained that music still takes priority over his running hobby.
"Ultimately, the music is more important, and I wouldn't want to compromise my liberty to just let myself go in the moment and play music and be present for people listening to a show," he said. "It occurred to me once or twice during the performance in Ottawa on Saturday night that in a perfect world I wouldn't be on my feet at all; I would be having a Netflix night. But, you know, those are the kind of stipulations that you might enforce more pedantically if you were a pro-runner. I'm just a delusional amateur."
Listen to the full As It Happens radio story on Doucet's run over here, and check out an interview with Doucet following the race [via Canadian Running Magazine] below.
That's right, dude took the stage to play a special Saturday night concert for Ottawa Race Weekend, then ditched his rocker apparel for running gear the next morning. He ran the 21 km half-marathon in an hour and 19 minutes, finishing 21st out of more than 13,000 participants.
Speaking to CBC's As It Happens, Doucet drew a connection between the adrenaline he feels performing onstage and the rush he gets from running races.
"You can work pretty hard on a rock'n'roll stage and not really notice it until the next morning or some hours later because the adrenaline takes you a long way — and I guess, in that sense, rock'n'roll has a lot in common with running," he said. "You can feel three days before a marathon or before a race that you're heavy and sluggish, and you don't have any game in your legs, and then the minute the gun goes, the shot of adrenaline is really quite something."
He explained that he took up running as a means to counter some of the less-than-healthy habits that come along with rock'n'roll life, adding that he makes a point to explore new cities by sneaker when he's on tour.
His success during Sunday's race wasn't a total fluke, though. Doucet has been training with champion runners Rob Watson and Lanni Marchant, and was paced this past weekend by Olympian Eric Gillis — a team that he fully appreciates puts him on par with the type of coaching that typically only professional runners would have access to.
"It's almost like I brought a gun to a knife fight," Doucet said. "I don't deserve this degree of support."
Despite his impressive finish, Doucet maintained that music still takes priority over his running hobby.
"Ultimately, the music is more important, and I wouldn't want to compromise my liberty to just let myself go in the moment and play music and be present for people listening to a show," he said. "It occurred to me once or twice during the performance in Ottawa on Saturday night that in a perfect world I wouldn't be on my feet at all; I would be having a Netflix night. But, you know, those are the kind of stipulations that you might enforce more pedantically if you were a pro-runner. I'm just a delusional amateur."
Listen to the full As It Happens radio story on Doucet's run over here, and check out an interview with Doucet following the race [via Canadian Running Magazine] below.
