Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text
Recently named “Canada’s Greatest Female Distance Runner” by Canadian Running magazine, Lynn Kanuka won medals on numerous international stages and set almost every Canadian middle distance record during the height of her storied career in the 1980s.
Born and raised in Regina, SK, Lynn now lives just outside of Vancouver where, until 2021, she coached our current Canadian record holder in the marathon, Natasha Wodak (episode 124).
We chatted with Lynn about how she discovered running, what role her father played, and the many influential coaches she had over the years. We also dig deep into all the details of her 3000m bronze medal performance at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. While this iconic race might be the one she’s best known for, Lynn describes other races where she was able to pull even more out of herself and remembers very fondly. We explore the topic of competitiveness, including knowing when to turn it on and when to turn it off, the drawbacks of our instant gratification culture on today’s athletes, and why she feels it’s harder to be a coach than an athlete.
We can see why Natasha Wodak had such amazing things to say about Lynn. She goes all in on whatever is important to her and brings her positive attitude everywhere she goes. Please enjoy our wide-ranging conversation with Canada’s bronze medal lady, Lynn Kanuka.
Resources we discuss in the episode:
- Lynn's bronze medal performance in the 1984 Olympics
- Lynn's 5th place performance in the 1988 Olympics
Connect with Lynn:
- Website: coachlynn.org
Connect with Carolyn & Kim:
- Email us with guest ideas: inspiredsolescast@gmail.com
- Inspired Soles Instagram
- Kim's Instagram
- Kim's Facebook
- Carolyn's Instagram
- Carolyn's Facebook
- Carolyn's website (sign up for her free weekly newsletter on the homepage)
You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to inspiredsolescast@gmail.com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!