Ben Preisner joined the cross country team in Grade 9 as a way to stay fit while playing hockey. As he progressed through High School, his relationship with running took an unexpected turn. Ben, still relatively new to the sport, represented Canada for the first time as a junior, placing 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 16th in the 2,000-meter steeplechase at the IAAF World Junior/Youth Track and Field Championships. The following year, he won the 2,000-meter steeplechase and placed 3rd in the 3,000-meter run at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships.

Ben would go on to compete at the collegiate level for the University of Tulsa where he had success in various distances both indoors and out. In his senior year, Ben represented Canada at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, Ben started to think about the next chapter of his life and didn’t see himself competing post-collegiate in the distances he ran at Tulsa. That’s when Ben discovered there was a half marathon taking place in Vancouver and, one month after graduating from university, he broke the tape at the 2019 Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon. Five months later, he broke the tape at the 2019 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon.

Looking to build on his success in road running, Ben set his sights on the marathon distance and the Canadian Olympic Standard. When his goal race, the 2020 London Marathon, was pushed back from April to October, he reached out to the organizers of The Marathon Project and pleaded his case to join the list of 50 men and 50 women invited to the exclusive event. Ben would ultimately better the Canadian Olympic Standard time in the marathon distance and, seven months later, Ben Preisner would once again represent Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

To learn more about Ben, you can follow him on Instagram at: @ben.preisner

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At the height of the pandemic and increasing racial tensions in the United States, Chris McGarrell found himself in a dark place. With gyms and basketball courts closed, Chris would return from work, curl up on his couch, and immerse himself in the social injustices in the world playing out on social media. It was then that two events would change his life. As restrictions were lifting, Chris noticed one of his friends would cycle to the basketball courts. Around the same time, Chris bumped into another friend who was noticeably fit after he discovered cycling. Chris knew what he had to do.

Chris made a pledge with a friend to purchase a bike to navigate the pandemic and started to share his experience as a cyclist on social media. The former captain of his High School football team pulled together a few friends to form a different kind of team and that’s how ManDem Cycling Club was formed. In this episode, we discuss the commonalities between the running and cycling community and Chris shares the secret to the club’s success or what he calls, the “sauce.” ManDem Cycling Club has been rapidly growing under Chris’ leadership and what started out as a pledge between two friends is now a prospering community with a strong foundation built on respect, community, and altruism.

To learn more about Chris, you can follow him on Instagram at: @116morningside

To learn more about ManDem Cycling Club, you can follow them at: @mandemcc

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Jerry Francois always had a sense he could run fast but the schools he attended growing up in Brooklyn didn’t have access to a track nor the funding for a cross country team. By the time Jerry entered High School, he started to get in trouble. In his junior year, Jerry lost his mother and struggled to cope with the loss; realizing he needed something to ground him, he turned to running in his senior year and attended his first track meet at the Armory in Manhattan. Running made Jerry feel normal again.

Fast forward to 2016 when Jerry and a few friends were invited to a track meet. When asked for a team name, Jerry made up a name on the spot, drawing inspiration from his streetwear brand, GoldFinger. The team won their heat and the GoldFinger Track Club was born.

Together with Co-Captains Gemma Kitchen and Thomas Laurado, Jerry shares the journey of GoldFinger Track Club and the work they are doing to bring change to the community. In 2020, GoldFinger Track Club started organizing solidarity runs for the Black Live Matter movement, which included hashtags like Black Miles Matter and the now popular BLK Mile. GoldFinger Track Club’s activism and support of Black owned small businesses is well documented and their approach to introducing running and a sense of community to athletes of all walks of life is truly driving change through the sport.

To learn more about GoldFinger Track Club, you can follow them on Instagram at: @gftcnyc

To learn more about Jerry, you can follow him on Instagram at: @kingparkergold2001

To learn more about Gemma, you can follow her on Instagram at: @gemma.kitchen

To learn more about Thomas, you can follow him on Instagram at: @lllllaurado

Follow The Longest Stride:

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