Provide a brief general introduction about yourself.

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My name is Evelyn Bighead-Gliddy. I am a First Nations lady from Wunnumin Lake First Nation. I was born and raised in this community and have lived here all my life. I am a mother of a 23-year-old daughter who also lives in the community and a 17-year-old son who is attending high school in Thunder Bay. I’m a foster/step-parent of three beautiful girls. I am a grandmother of an eight-year-old boy, but my daughter is also a foster parent, and now she has two more boys in her family. Now I have three handsome grandchildren all together.

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What does your day-to-day life look like?

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I am a marathon runner, I've been running a few years now. I started running when I was 31 years old. Recently, I ran my tenth marathon at the Barbados Marathon, which took place in December 2017. And I did my eleventh marathon in 9th Annual Indoor Marathon at the Lakehead University Hangar in Thunder Bay and came in first in the female division. My full-time position is an Education Director Assistant. I recently started this job, and I love the work that I do.  

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What has motivated you?

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The things that have motivated me were to improve my life, to get a better life for myself and all those that I love. Before I started running, I had to leave an abusive marriage and needed to move on to different lifestyle. It does not bother me because I learned through running to forgive the past and live for today. Other runners can only understand the feelings that I get while I am running. It is almost like each minute out on the trails gives me feelings of freedom and happiness. It’s hard to describe.

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Outside of work, what kind of things do you do to take care of yourself?

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The things that I enjoy to do in my spare time are running, exercising, fishing, golfing, woodcut and spending time outdoors. The most important thing you to do for yourself is to take care of your health physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Running and exercise help to me achieve a balance in my life that I never had before.

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What would you like to share with the youth reading this?

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It is never too late to set your goals! Running has enabled me to travel to far away places and meet many different people. It has given me opportunities that I never would have had before.

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Update: Evelyn's son passed away. We are very sorry for her loss.