Before the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Calgary Spartans Trevor Hofbauer’s main “bucket list” item as a runner was to make the Canadian Olympic Team. After smashing his personal best by almost seven full minutes to win the national Marathon Championships, it may be time for a new list. Trevor crossed the line in 2:09:51, less than 30 seconds off the Canadian record of 2:09:25 and more than a full minute under the Olympic standard time.
With less than nine months to go, he’ll be preparing with help from Spartans Coach Deon Flynn, himself an Age Grouper Gold medallist at the nationals in Triathlon. “It was a pretty easy decision to go with Deon,” says Trevor. “As a coach, he strikes a great balance between reassuring you and pushing you. The Spartans are also looking to grow their distance program, and it’s fun to be part of that and pay it forward.”
For now though, Trevor is focused on preparing to run the race of his life in Japan next year, following his triumph in Toronto. “I’m over the moon about the result and I’m really looking forward to representing Canada,” he says.
There is a great article by Myles Gouth at runcreature.com on Trevor who has qualified for the Olympics in the marathon. As national champion, Trevor is one of only two Canadians to run under 2:10 (2:09.51 – only .26 over the record of 2:09.25). In Coach Deon Flynn’s words, Trevor is “a fierce competitor with a ton of confidence”. It’s Trevor’s “toughness, self belief and work ethic that has made him one of Canada’s all-time best marathoners”.
For those athletes who want to know Trevor’s recipe for success, in his own words: “I put my heart into every one of my workouts. I put 100 percent of my effort in … and that trains me to put 100 percent effort into every race that I do. So I never really focus on numbers. I focus on perceived effort and I focus on things bigger than the sport to help get me from the start to the finish.”
He says another important factor is the willingness to consistently do the extra 1% in training. “I’ve worked extremely hard to make sure my stretching routine, my foam rolling, my self massage, just my attention to detail on everything outside of the sport is flawless. It has to be, so I can be the best athlete I can moving forward. If I don’t do all those little things, I don’t get consistent training in. And you need consistency to achieve growth.”