Emma Pegg: Nothing Can Slow Her Down
Emma Pegg shows off her NACAC silver medal – Contributed Photo
She’s fast on the track, and quickly climbing the ranks among not only the best middle distance runners in Ontario, but also in Canada and North America.
For Pegg, who hails from Morpeth, she points outward when considering her success to those around her.
“I think the main reason to success comes from the support of my coaches, family, friends and community as well as the love of the sport. Saying that, it has also been a long season of hard work and dedication,” said Pegg.
Having to hit at 2:10 standard to compete with Team Canada at this years NACAC championships in Mexico, Pegg says that meet and time standards aren’t her typical focus, it’s improvement that drives her.
“I don’t personally set a lot of goals in terms of meets or placement, I set goals more towards always improving and learning from my experiences.”
For Emma Pegg, this year’s NACAC were special, as she won a silver medal in the 800m for Canada, representing her country for the first time.
“The overall experience was so incredible. I remember opening my Team Canada box with all the gear and trying it all on for the first time and thinking, wow this is actually real,” Pegg said, describing the experience of representing Canada.
“This type of experience was so inspiring watching all the different athletes compete and making so many new friends with the same mindset and dedication. Representing Canada doing something I love is honestly an honour and I hope to be able to do it again.”
Pegg, who also won multiple Provincial gold medals, and a National U20 bronze medal this summer, doesn’t see running as a chore, or something she has to do. For the talented young athlete, running is something she gets to do, and loves to do.
“I was always reminded by my coaches, “I get to go to practice,” not “I have to go to practice.” If you love something it doesn’t seem like a chore it’s more of a privilege,” Pegg explained about her love for running.
“I personally find running very peaceful and gives you time to yourself just to think and not worry about anything else, an escape from reality. Going to practice is something I always enjoy, being able to see my friends and coaches, working hard and feeling accomplished. Running is kind of the best of both worlds, it keeps you fit and feeling good and connected to people with the same mindset.”
And although the World is already watching Pegg, she’s just taking things one step, or stride as it may be, at a time. She’s only 16-years-old after all, and the future, albeit bright, it still the future.
“I like to just go with the flow. I don’t really have a set plan for the future or next season but it would be amazing to represent Canada again next year, but that’s something where if it happens it happens and if it doesn’t, there are bigger, better things ahead that I need to look forward to,” Pegg said.