Hello to all! My name is Deanna and I live near Calgary, Alberta Canada. This will be my 6th full marathon and it is something I look forward to every year. This year will be a bit of a challenge, though. In the last few years, the Marathon has been right as school gets out here. This year, it is right after school starts. That is always the most exhausting time for me. I work at a preschool/kindergarten for children with special needs. This year, if I am in a preschool class, it means that we will have our first group of children who have been born since the pandemic started. It will be an interesting one!

I have been writing in some way for as long as I can remember. Writing poetry helped get me through those turbulent teenage years. After high school, I joined a band and I was writing lyrics along with being the lead singer. Then I got married and had children. Now that they are grown, I have more time in some ways. With my job, I tend to compose rhyming songs to fit different situations with my kiddos. In saying that, I sometimes struggle during the marathon to be more “adult” instead of drifting towards “Baby Shark” remixes in my head!

When I am not working during the summer break, my husband and I like to travel. Our favourite place is the Normandy area in France. Recently, we went to Tokyo and I have a feeling I am going to be finding a lot of inspiration from that trip. The beauty of the country and the people were amazing!

To prepare for this marathon, I try to go through random prompts and work with them. The day before, I will gather my snacks like fruit, nuts, and other lighter things. I find that that helps a lot and keeps me going. If I try to eat a big meal, it makes me very tired. About hour 18, I will start to wilt. I sit in my chair and set an alarm on my phone so I can rest my eyes.

I look forward to catching up with those I have met in past years and meeting new people!

Good luck to all and see you soon!

Deanna N.