Despite the rocky year, Olivia Romaniw is gearing up for the Classic

By: Josh Kozelj 
Photos: Dave Hashim, Arthur Ward

Setbacks have never stopped Olivia Romaniw. 

Be it through injuries, a fallen tree branch (more on that later), or now COVID-19, Romaniw has taken life’s punches and come back stronger. 

The middle distance runner from Hamilton, Ont., made a name for herself in the Canadian running scene in 2019 at the University of Guelph. One year after taking a break from the sport, Romaniw ran 2:01.54 and medaled in the 600m and 1000m at the U SPORTS indoor track and field championships. 

Following her collegiate career, she moved to Victoria to train with the Athletics Canada West Hub and fell in love with the running scene on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. 

The wide open gravel trails. The forests. The ocean. 

All that Victoria has to offer has made the city feel like home for Romaniw. 

Now, as she prepares to open her outdoor season next week at the Track Classic, Romaniw discusses her early forays into the sport and her long-term goals. 

Answers have been edited for clarity and length. 

Josh Kozelj: How did you get into the sport of running? 

Olivia Romaniw: My brother’s were very good at running, so when I came through high school it was sort of like, ‘Hey! You’re a Romaniw, you’re going into running?’ My brother Anthony is also an 800m runner, so that’s how I kind of came into running. 

I didn’t love it at first. I think in high school it was sort of a love/hate thing. I’m competitive and wanted to be good at it, without really liking it. That bled into university, around the middle of university I started to really love it and that’s when I started to get a lot more serious about it. That’s when the times started to show. I was in a club through high school, but dealt with a lot of injuries as well. 

JK: You mention that you maybe didn’t like running at some points. What switched for you? 

OR: Later on in high school, I had some success at OFSAA (the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) in grade 10. I think that just lit a fire and I was like, ‘Alright, I’m ready to be competitive in this.’ 

But I dealt with stress fractures in grade 11 and 12, so I didn’t compete very much. I was part of a program that was a bit more old school coaching, run you into the ground, and I think that was a big reason why I didn’t enjoy it. When I got to university, I really enjoyed the team environment. The social aspect, all my friends were there, I think that’s what kept me around. 

I really enjoyed training, I didn’t like competing. I took a year off from running in my fourth year in university, and that just gave me some perspective. When I came back in my fifth year, I was determined to enjoy it. I was like, I don’t care what happens, I‘m just going to have fun. 

JK: You mentioned that and I noticed that 2019 was a huge year for you. What led to those breakthroughs? Was it kind of what you’re talking about there with taking a break?

OR: Yeah, that was a big part of it. I also think the training at Guelph my first few years didn’t click with me, then we had a big group of girls leave, so then I feel like the training got a lot more 800 metre-specific, and we had a really great group of six to eight girls. I was also just having a lot of fun, and I had gotten over my competition anxiety. I remember in my earlier years, leading into a competition, I was unable to sleep, talk, eat, I’d get so nervous. 

JK: I feel like that’s so relatable, especially as someone else who runs. What did you do in that year off? 

OR: School, work, I got a job. I wasn’t really planning on coming back. Then one of the coaches at Guelph at the time reached out and said he was forming this 600 metre group, more of a development thing, and I was like, ‘You know what, sounds fun! Let’s do it.’ 

JK: When did you move out to train with the West Hub in Victoria, and what motivated you to move west? 

OR: I was around when Dave [Scott-Thomas] was fired. I think I called my brother and we compiled a list of coaches I’d like to work with. I started sending out emails. I ended up meeting with Heather [Hannigar] and ended up flying to Victoria to meet the team, see the area, and I fell in love. I think at the time, Guelph and southern Ontario had gotten stale for me and it was a running decision but also a personal life decision. I needed something new. 

JK: What’s it been like training in Victoria? Do you have any favourite trails? 

OR: Victoria has been fantastic, I think a lot of athletes can relate to this, I’m a big fan of wide, flat, crushed gravel trails. We have the Galloping Goose, the Cowichan trail. 

JK: This might be a deep question, but what do you enjoy most of the act of running itself? 

OR: I used to run with music and I stopped doing that, so I appreciate the time to just unplug. Here it’s so easy to run somewhere beautiful, so I kind of just enjoy my forest time. 

JK: Obviously, you’re a bit sick. If you are able to run the Track Classic, what are your goals? 

OR: It’ll actually be my season opener. I’ve had quite the challenging year, just dealing with injuries that have been freak accidents. In November I stepped on a very large tree branch that had fallen and I ended up with a bad bone bruise. That put me out for a few months, and after that it was a series of injuries that were related to that—so I haven’t had the most consistent training. What I’m looking for in the Classic is just to put myself out there and get that racing stimulus again leading into nationals. 

JK: What excites you about racing on a track you’re quite familiar with, and a home crowd? 

OR: It’s really exciting. It’ll be my partner’s first time seeing me race, so the fact that we have the opportunity to do that is really cool. My best friends will be there, and it’s nice having all the support from the Hub. I appreciate the familiarity of it, given the year I’ve had hasn’t been ideal in terms of the lead up. 

It’s such a great opportunity to ease some of the anxieties I’m having, or insecurities, and step on a familiar track and remember what it’s like to do the job.  

JK: What are your larger goals for 2022 and beyond? 

OR: Given that I’m having such a late start to the year, those goals of World Championships and Commonwealth have kind of well to the wayside. But I’m really looking forward to running well to set myself up for next year. So a goal would be to run a personal best for sure.