Jade DeLisle, a Humber student in the firefighter program, founded Team DeLisle Racing for the 5K run that happens every spring at Humber, to raise money for Stella's Place, which helps youth with their mental health and to encourage others to be a better version of themselves.
Team DeLisle started in February 2023, when DeLisle and his friend, Matthew Fletcher, teamed up to race and raised about $850 that year. Fletcher won the race with DeLisle following in second place.
Team DeLisle has been growing since then.
“We're back with Team DeLisle, and it's going to be our best year yet. So basically, it's just a group of people coming together to join our team. Everyone's pretty much welcome to join our team, and we're going to raise a lot of money,” DeLisle said.
The team set their goal to raise $400, and three weeks before race day, they’ve raised $425. So far, 25 runners have been registered to run this spring.
“It's just about building this community around the idea of just coming together and choosing to get uncomfortable. Our mission statement at Team DeLisle is pushing ourselves to ultimately support a greater cause,” he said.
“And that's what it is for us, is we're getting uncomfortable during the runs. We're putting ourselves through uncomfortable situations, but more so to help support those in need and to help support something bigger than ourselves,” he said.
DeLisle said that one doesn’t have to be the greatest athlete to be part of the team, and encourages whoever is interested to participate by sending them a message on his Instagram page at TeamDeLisle.
“What we look for at Team DeLisle is people who have great character and contribute to our culture of putting others before ourselves and ultimately coming together as a community and being good people overall,” he said.
The only requirement is that the team has to run the race, and not walk it, although the event allows participants to walk the 5K Run, he said.
“And the reason we put that in is because we want people to get uncomfortable. I want people to push themselves. I want them to chase a goal,” DeLisle said.
His running journey started in 2020, when he was in Grade 10 and COVID-19 hit, so everything was shut down.
“I just wanted to become a better hockey player because I’ve played hockey my whole life,” he said.
As soon as sports were finally back, he tried out for his school’s grade 12 cross-country team as he thought he would be the perfect candidate and a great runner.
“And after having run for a couple of years, I thought I would be the perfect candidate and a great runner," DeLisle said.
“But I didn't make the team, and it was very heartbreaking because our cross country team in high school was a team that everyone made, and I wasn't even good enough to make that team,” he said.
Once DeLisle became a Humber student in the Fitness and Health Promotion program about two years ago, he decided to try out for cross country again.
“I saw what it was like to be a varsity athlete and the treatment they got, the facilities they got to use and more so the competition there was in the sport, and I said, ‘I wanted a piece of that,’” he said.
“So I looked at all the teams that were available and cross country was the one varsity team that I thought, you know what, I'm going to make this happen and I'm going to do it,” he said.
But he worked hard to make the sixth spot on the team.
“I started running like crazy. I got in contact with the coach, and with maybe a little bit of luck, we can say as well, I managed to win the sixth spot on the team,” DeLisle said.
He said that running has given him ups and downs, but what matters is that one must keep going and not let their thoughts back down.
“You get to a point where you're so broken down, you're tired, you're exhausted, and you're going to have two options. You're going to either keep going or you can back down. And back down is nice because you're warm and cuddly and all that, but ultimately it won't get you (where) you want to go,” DeLisle said.
“And I'm so thankful that I decided to keep on going in that moment,” he said.
DeLisle said that what keeps him going and what he loves isn’t the act of running itself, but how challenging it is for him.
“It's uncomfortable, and while I'm running, all I wish is for it to be over," he said. "But it's once I get to the end, once I cross that finish line, that's what keeps me going more so than anything, but as well, again, it's made me who I am.”
At that time, making the Humber varsity team was the hardest thing he’s ever done, “and I was even told by my coach during tryouts — again, there's no hard feelings now because it all worked out — but I was told that I wasn't going to make the team and there wasn't a good shot,” he said.
“then long story short, when I just kept going and I managed to make the team, it showed me that so many things are possible as long as I kept going,” DeLisle said.
“So what keeps me going today is just knowing that I was able to do that. And I want to keep chasing that difficult thing. But it's more so than that. It's the community you build around the running. The people I've met along the way,” he said.
DeLisle said running is a very simple thing that could also be very complex.
“[Running] it was something so hard for me to do before. It's still hard for me to do a lot of the time. But I love that aspect of it,” he said.
“What the struggle is for myself, but what I also enjoy about it, and for most runners, is the mental aspect. Everyone has a limiter,” DeLisle said.
“Your body's exhausted, but basically, that's just your mind telling you you're done and you're in danger…, and then that's typically when people give up,” DeLisle said.
He said that when it comes to cross-country, one must train oneself to go past that limit and push oneself to keep going.
“I find, once I learn that I'm able to do a lot more, even when my brain tells me that I have to stop, that's a key piece that just shows your mental growth in that sense,” he said.
The mental aspect of it and the mental resilience are what make running hard.
“Your body is a lot stronger and can do a lot more than your mind thinks it can,” he said.
“I truly believe cross-country and running is 90 per cent mental (and) maybe 10 per cent physical, if that,” he said.
DeLisle advises people who are starting their running journey to do their research first and start easy, as it is one of the most injury-prone sports one can do, “because you're putting your body through physical stress and mental stress for a very long period of time, depending on how long your distances are.”
“Do your research, learn what kind of runs you want to do, figure out what your goals are, learn about your form,” he said.
He also advised hiring a coach to show how it works and to have someone to count on, if possible.
Even though that's not how he started, he said others to do so, as it is all about building resistance and starting slow so one won’t injure their body.
“I think the key piece for anyone starting is just to go out and get started. A lot of people hesitate, thinking, you know, ‘I'm not going to be very good at first,’ but everyone starts,” DeLisle said.
Cross-country is a type of run that isn’t based on cement-paved roads with water stations, as they run in different landscapes.
“We're running through forest terrain, up and down hills, over rocks. All kinds of different stuff,” DeLisle said.
He said cross country is a very tactical run, “so it doesn't come down to just your speed capabilities. Although speed is important, you have to read the land and figure out a tactic in the sport, which is what separates, I think, cross country from your typical track and field sprints, your typical marathons.”
“You have to know where to take your advantage, what you're better at, what you're not good at," DeLisle said. "I'm someone who's good at getting up hills. I credit my hockey background because I have strong legs. So when it comes to a hill, that's where I try to pass a lot of people,” he said.
DeLisle has been taking a different approach in his training this year, focusing on his health.
“I'm not going to be as fast as I have been in the past years, but I'm going to be a lot healthier, so that's the goal,” he said.
