"I decided that if I wanted to bring myself back up, confidence-wise, physically and mentally, then I needed to get running involved with it just because I knew how much I enjoyed it," said Pedida.
He offered a final piece of encouragement aimed at every runner navigating the various distances over the weekend.
"Those are the sessions where we're pushing out paces, trying to go fast," said Pedida.
Pedida reiterated that the true victory lies in the dedication shown before the starter pistol fires.
"Regardless of distance and intentions, everyone should be proud of themselves and the effort they put in," said Pedida.
Coinciding with these local stories, international participants Sandy Williamson and her daughter Kayleigh, who previously made headlines as one of the first women with Down Syndrome to complete the New York City Marathon, traveled from Austin to join the Calgary event.
"My mom, in a nursing home, used to think that she had escaped and just travelled all over the country," said Sandy.
The mother-and-daughter duo historically used distinct city races as a powerful tool to honor Sandy's mother following her 2016 Alzheimer's diagnosis.
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"So my way bridging the gap between a mother who has Alzheimer's and a daughter who has Down Syndrome is we would go find a race (in a city her mom claimed to escape to), we'd run the race and we'd bring the medal back to," said Sandy.
