Kenny Yum

Runners Are My Family -- These Bombs Hit Our Home

2013-04-17T12:25:27-04:00

The loneliest place to be in a race is at the start line. We've all been there, silent and still, standing in a corral with hundreds of strangers -- strangers who miles later would be comrades, who by the time you finished your 26.2 miles would be a brother or sister. I remember the first time I ran a road race, an early April day like today, many years ago. Somewhere in the power of the crowds, the surging mentality, I had finally found a place where I felt I belonged. That first race, I weaved, bobbed, drafted behind a faster runner and, finally, raced.

Racing brought out the best of the runner in me. In it I found the childlike strides that we all strive to regain, somewhat close to graceful (by our own mind's eye). Racing let me share that pain and somehow, the movement of fellow runners somehow made the effort almost easy.

So in the dozens and dozens and dozens of races since, I've always cherished the start corral. My routine is set. A sip of water, a tug of the cap, feeling the gels on my pack, loosening the throwaway sweater. Composing a game face. And even as we get to the final minutes before a race, you could almost hear the silence. Thousands of people could be that silent? Could I really be so alone?

Yes we are social creatures and though the growth of the sport has sprouted running clubs and Sunday run groups, there is a reason why they talk about the loneliness of a long-distance runner. We may share the misery, but those roads we run, the miles we log, the calories we watch and the times we hit the start button on our Garmins are individual acts. So is actually putting a foot in front of the other.

While on most days of the year I train alone, suffer by myself, push myself to do an early run, it's the power of the crowd -- the need to have a shared experience -- that keeps me slogging through the winters or hold a running streak. Those are all internal struggles looking to be expressed on a race day months later with the crowd.

But we are not really alone.

Marathoners have a shared experience because not many other people go through the training and work that goes into long-distance running. When I say to myself that runners are my kind of people, I'm not just talking about a type of person who can geek it out about Garmins, tempos, race schedules or trackwork. I'm talking about people who work hard, love physical fitness, are supportive of each other, and find it more easy to give than to get back. In some ways, I just can't explain it other than to say I've never really met a runner I wouldn't want to go on a 5K run with, or share stories over a few pints.

Even us crazy runners are not alone.

A few years ago, in a bar a few hours after a friend and I had done Boston, we sat with our significant others. While we tried to regale ourselves with stories about the bus ride to Hopkinton, the wait at the village and the ensuing three to four hours of racing, we got nothing but eyerolls. Our better halves had endured a marathon -- a marathon of waiting by Hereford and Boylston, jockeying for position so they can be curbside, so when myself or a runner passed by for a mere few seconds, they could wave at us and scream "Go Kenny!" or "You're Almost Done! Woo hoo!"

And they're right. Any spouse or supporter of a runner knows what it means. Short Saturday nights, early Sunday mornings, 'taper' weeks where certain foods were forbidden and others gorged. This is not to mention the piles of running clothes that accumulate or vacation schedules squished between race seasons.

On race day, runners and their biggest fans, those loved ones, friends, supporters of our sport, turn stretches of road into something special. That race course -- First Ave in NYC, the Mall in DC, Wellesley -- is transformed into something so special they have nicknames like the "Scream Tunnel" or "Citgo Sign."

This is my long way of saying that on race day, that course, filled with my people, lined by our family, makes a race, be it Boston, Chicago, Toronto, MCM, my house. And I think that's what I feel about yesterday. Those attacks hit in a way I'm still trying to figure out how to process.

Yesterday, our house was attacked. Our friends and our family. Our fellow racers -- no, runners. And that's why I think it hurts.

***

Boston's shirts are loud. In the two times I've run it I've gobbled up a tonne of gear -- my weakness. But after the race, I tuck away the bright blues and greens and go for a muted black windbreaker with a smaller Boston logo. The logo is small, yellow, and just big enough that a fellow runner can see it within 10 paces. Just enough time to nod if it was called for.

Last night, I read about the #blueforboston movement, a call for runners to proudly wear Boston blue and yellow. I thought about it, and didn't hesitate. I dug through the gear and took out the brightest blue, the loudest yellow.

Today, I proudly wore my Boston colours. This Sunday, I signed up for a 10K where I will do the same. And just a few hours ago, at the Peace Run for Boston in Queen's Park, I and others gathered in our gear, in the perfect spring air. We stood there, silent for 60 seconds, where a crowd of 100 could be as loud as none, before we all set out on a run for Boston.

Kenny Yum is the managing editor of HuffPost Canada and a 22-time marathon runner. He blogs on running at A Whole Lot Of Soles.

At The Boston Marathon, The Sweetest Finish Is Soured

2013-04-15T17:13:15-04:00

It's been called the sweetest left turn in the world, the corner of Hereford that leads to the final stretch of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street.

For a few hours, once a year, Boylston becomes the hallowed ground for thousands of runners. Boston on this day doesn't become the name of the city. It's the name of the race, run on Patriot's Day, also known by those who line the 26.2 mile route as "Marathon Monday." Citizens and runners alike love the event. No question.

For runners, Boston is the everyday Everest, a sort of Olympics for those who toil the roads on 16-week training programs in those winter months. And to be in Boston during marathon weekend (I've run two in recent years) is to know how much runners and everyday citizens celebrate an event that reaffirms live.

So when I heard about bombs and Boston, it was a shock to the system. I know more than several runners down there and I've literally been in their shoes, struggling down that final straightaway. The finish of the Boston Marathon is the happiest place for a runner, where dreams are fulfilled.

A photo I took of Boylston during the 2010 marathon.

Today, friends of mine emailed me, texted or called me, fearful that maybe I was there for the 2013 edition. I in turn was fearful for friends of mine who were down there -- more than 2,000 Canadians were signed up for the race. Most so far have checked in and for that I'm grateful.

A few years ago, in the lead up to the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., officials raised security for the October race, citing recent shootings.

Running can heal communities. Despite the backlash runners faced last year over the cancelled New York City Marathon, these big city events can lift spirits. The New York Marathon was run in the months after Sept, 11, 2001, as was the Marine Corps a month after 9/11.

I spoke to two running friends in Boston and emailed another. One, Samantha Sykes, a friend who I see on road races around Ontario, said that the bombs feel like an attack on the running community. A community that is helpful, friendly. Dave Emilio, another runner who I'll see on random Sundays in a Toronto park, told me he didn't know if he'd do another Boston. Big city marathons, like Boston, Chicago, New York, may never feel the same again -- not for awhile yet. And it's too early to come to conclusions about what this means for races, for the sport of running. That will come with time.

Last week, while accompanying a running buddy, we both described Boston as a runners' Christmas. And it's true, for the most part. Today, that finish line, one that I had gratefully had the pleasure of running twice in my career, was marred.

One thing all of us runners know. In times of stress, we lace them up, and we go out for a run. We'll be back on our feet and on the roads.

Kenny Yum is the managing editor of HuffPost Canada and a 22-time marathon runner. He blogs on running at A Whole Lot Of Soles.

My self portrait at the Boston Marathon finish on Boylston.

Canadians In Boston Marathon 2013 Decry 'Attack' (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

2013-04-15T16:24:24-04:00

Rob Watson’s first Boston Marathon will be forever etched in his memory, but the elation he felt as the top Canadian racer was soon overcome by frustration and grief at bombings that rocked the finish line of the storied race.

Watson, who finished in 11th place with a time of 2:15, was settling into a celebratory lunch at the nearby Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel when he heard “a really loud explosion.”

“It sounded like a really loud thunderclap, so that’s what I thought it was, but I looked out the window and it’s a calm and clear day,” said the London, Ont., runner, speaking to HuffPost Canada from his hotel about 800 metres from the blast site.

“Twenty seconds later there was another one, so after that happened, you knew it was something significant, but you didn’t know what it was ... when something like that happens, unfortunately you think about 9/11 and stuff.”

Story continues under gallery.

Watson’s thoughts went immediately to his friends and family at the event. Luckily, everyone he knows is accounted for and safe.

“You try and get hold of them as quick as you can and you can’t so it’s scary, you don’t know how to react in a situation like that and there was a lot of upset people, it wasn’t cool.”

“It’s kind of surreal in a terrible, horrible way because you don’t expect it to happen, you’re at the Boston Marathon, it’s a road race, it’s a marathon, marathons are celebrations and they’re festivals and people are here for great reasons, they come from all over the world."

Many Canadian runners caught up in Monday’s mayhem at the Boston Marathon expressed similar feelings of shock and anger at what they believe was an attack on their community at a race that has become one of the biggest events for Canadian running enthusiasts outside of the country.

Two explosions tore across the finish line at around the four-hour mark of the legendary race, sending runners and bystanders fleeing the area covered by debris, blood and plumes of grey smoke. The explosions left at least three dead and dozens injured, with the number of casualties expected to climb.

Marathon runner David Emilio heard the explosions after he had finished his marathon in at time of 3:11, about 45 minutes before the chaos erupted. The 45-year-old marathoner from Toronto -- who was with 20 other runners from the Toronto area -- said he's heard from most of the runners from his group.

"We heard the explosion," he said from his hotel room a block away from the finish line. "For us it was panic for about 10 to 15 minutes while we were waiting to see what happened."

People were in tears, and they knew something terrible had happened.

"It’s just sheer, mixed emotions: Anger that someone is sick enough to do that. Everyone is half sad and half angry."

After the explosions, hundreds of ambulances started to stream into the area. "The electric feeling of Boston just died -- everyone was freaking out and automatically thought that something bad had happened."

The area hotels were locked down and as Emilio looked out of his hotel room, he could see the area beyond the finish -- tables were overturned, garbage bins searched. Small detonations were heard -- Emilio believes police were dealing with knapsacks left behind.

Emilio doesn't know if he'll do another Boston. For now, he says that all big city marathons -- Chicago, New York -- feel a little less safe.

Outside of the United States, Canadians represent the largest contingent of runners from another country: 2,083 registered participants, or 7.7 per cent of the 26,000 field, are Canadians.

Canadian Samantha Sykes said she feels the running community was “attacked.”

The 30-year-old Toronto woman had seen a security presence before and during the race -- mentioning that she took a picture of what looked like a sniper. She said she saw Marines on her way to the Athlete’s Village in Hopkinton, Mass., near the start of the race.

Sykes, speaking to HuffPost from her Beacon Hill hotel, finished her marathon with a time of around 3:30, about 40 to 50 minutes before the explosions. She had filtered into the finish area to grab her gear.

“It feels like a breach to be honest -- as a runner I feel like they attacked my friends,” she said.

Sykes has several Toronto friends running the race from the Running Room and Lululemon clubs. She said she was trying to locate or message them.

Sykes said she’d seen hotels near the finish line in Copley Square blocked off as fears of other devices spread. She's been getting updates by TV at her hotel. At first, she didn’t know about the explosions, until she started seeing all the messages from worried friends.

Michael Doyle, an editor at Canadian Running Magazine, had been watching Canadians cross the finish line about 45 minutes before the bombings. He estimates there were about 1,000 spectators near the line.

“Creepily enough, about 45 minutes before, I was exactly where the explosion apparently went off. It was the media, VIP and friends and family of the elite runners grandstand,” he said from a locked down zone near a medical tent in Copley Park.

“I didn’t hear a huge explosion or anything like that, it wasn’t how you’d expect this scenario to play out like giant black puffs of smoke or anything along those lines.”

Doyle grabbed his camera and managed to convince race volunteers to let him back inside a perimeter that had been set up. That’s when he saw members of the FBI, local police, ATF and military arrive on scene.

“When I was getting closer to the situation, you could see a lot of people on their phones, a lot of people asking if they’d seen their loved one that had just finished the race, trying to figure out where everyone was, people were crying,” he said.

“As you can imagine there was just a general state of shock.”

He heard what he believes was a third explosion. Then the security presence was ramped up in front of the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel, where many elite runners and race officials were staying.

Speaking with the Huffington Post Canada about an hour and a half after news of the explosions first broke, Doyle noted the crowd was beginning to “thin out.

“The volunteers, some are packing up and leaving, some are kind of just sitting down on park benches and staring off into space. People look pretty glum, pretty upset.”

Laura McLean, another runner from Toronto, was in the medical tent being treated for dehydration when she was pulled out to make room for victims of the explosions.

McLean says she saw people who were "really, really bloody."

The blasts went off about four hours after the race began.

Conservative Member of Parliament Ryan Leef was clear of the four block-long finish area when he heard sirens coming from all directions toward the start line: He didn’t hear any explosion.

“What a terrible thing to have happen to people, in what should have been their greatest of accomplishments,” he said in an email to HuffPost Canada.

“My thoughts are obviously with my fellow runners, organizers, volunteers, spectators and the families of the victims. We'll all remember the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, but now, sadly, for a far different reason than we all wanted at the start line this morning.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper took to Twitter to express his shock at the news, saying his "thoughts are with those who are affected."

The Department of Foreign Affairs has set up an emergency line — 1-800-387-3124 — to offer assistance to Canadians.

With a file from The Canadian Press

Roll Up The Rim Odds 2013: Size Does Matter, 1,100 Readers Tell Us (PHOTOS)

2013-03-27T10:06:42-04:00

Yes, size does matter, at least when it comes to Canada’s collective cup collecting contest, and we have a lot of cups to prove it.

Many have asked whether there’s a conspiracy with the prize distribution in Tim Hortons' Roll Up The Rim To Win contest. Earlier this week, The Huffington Post Canada released its unscientific findings that the odds favour those who buy bigger cup sizes, based on the 92 drinks we consumed over a week. The experiment sparked a lot of discussion and follow up by some of our fellow media outlets (see here and here and here).

But, as we noted in our survey, we had an admittedly small sample size — 92 coffees consumed mostly by staff in our Toronto office. So we asked for your input.

In total, 1,182 Tim Hortons customers responded to our national “roll call” to take tally of your results, accounting for 19,349 beverages. To gauge the win-loss ratio, we asked readers to tally the results of their last 10 drinks per cup size. We also asked readers to give us their overall win-loss numbers for 2013.

The national results (story continues below slideshow):

The larger the size, the more likely the odds of winning. Large coffees saw a win rate of 19.3 per cent, followed by extra large at 18.3 per cent and medium at 17.9 per cent. All are better than the one-in-six odds that Tim Horton’s lists as the official odds of winning a food prize. Small coffees — and there were more than 3,000 of these counted by our readers — came in with a win rate of 13.4 per cent.

Tim Hortons prints in its cups that there is a one-in-six chance of winning a food prize, or 16.6 per cent.

“I buy at least 3 times a day, only win on bigger cups,” said Mike Reed of Manitoba. “No one I know has won anything but coffee.”

Regional odds were interesting to note. In British Columbia, readers reported a 20.6 per cent win rate with large drinks and 12 per cent for smalls, while in Ontario, large coffees saw a 19.6 per cent win rate for large, 17.7 per cent for extra large and 13.2 per cent for small.

The national results are also unscientific, but an interesting addition to the hot debate about RUTR odds. Readers from all provinces reported to us, although our sample size came mostly from Ontario (54%), Alberta (12%) and British Columbia (11%).

In our original story, when asked about whether cup size changes the odds, Alexandra Cygal, senior manager of public affairs for Tim Hortons, gave a categorical "no."

The "conspiracy theorists are wrong," she said in an email. "Our prizes are distributed randomly across all eligible cup sizes so large cups don’t necessarily mean better odds."

By the way, if you think odds of one-in-six mean you’re due a prize after buying six drinks, a crash course in probability theory is warranted.

As Wai Kong (John) Yuen, a math professor at Ontario's Brock University told us earlier, "it only means that in the long run, if you buy a large number of coffees, say 600 cups, you are expected to win around 100 times. However, anything can happen if you only buy six."

Think of what happens when you roll dice. There's a one-in-six chance the die will turn up a six. The odds essentially "reset" on the next roll. Says Vadim Kaimanovich, the Canada Research Chair in Analysis and Probability at University of Ottawa, "The result doesn’t depend on what happened before or what happens after."

Readers who participated in our national “roll call” had lots to say about the contest:

“My whole office went all month and nobody won a single prize. It's a scam!” — @mademediainc, Quebec

“I won more free coffees in Kandahar on my 2nd tour then I ever do back in Canada.” — @DocVerrall, Alberta

The binomial probability of having a record as crappy as mine is exactly 3.05% — @maxmoore306, Alberta

Conspiracy? Been playing the game since inception, never ever won more than a free coffee or donut. Better than nothing? You decide. :) — @CalvinSwine905, Ontario

Share your Roll Up The Rim experiences in our comments section.

Summary of National and Regional Win Rates:

Overall responses
1182 respondents
19,349 drinks
Note: 1 in six odd is 16.6%

National
Win percentage: 13.90%
Small win rate: 13.39%
Medium win rate: 17.89%
Large win rate : 19.30%
Extra Large win rate: 18.27%

British Columbia
Win percentage: 13.53%

Alberta
Win percentage: 13.55%

Saskatchewan
Win percentage: 15.12%

Manitoba
Win percentage: 12.79%

Ontario
Win percentage: 14.23%

Quebec
Win percentage: 12.8%

New Brunswick
Win percentage: 10.30%

PEI
Win percentage: 18.02%

Newfoundland and Labrador
Win percentage: 17.09%

Territories
Win percentage: 11.76%

United States
Win percentage: 18.75%

Nova Scotia
Win percentage: 13.96%

Why Y? A Generation Comes Of Age

2012-11-19T15:29:53-05:00

Years ago, Gen Xers watched with interest as Baby Boomers struggled with the rise of technology while the popular culture morphed, languages changed, sensibilities shifted. Some Boomers scrambled to figure out Internet browsers, decipher acronyms and emoticons while others were just trying to answer the oft-repeated question: "What's with kids these days?"

That same question, "what's with kids?" can be repeated as Boomers head toward retirement and Gen Xers entrench, firmly rooted in careers, family and positions of influence. Millennials, who were shaped by technology and grew up in a more progressive society, are reaching a critical point -- true, there are "kids" among them, but the Millennials are not on the margins. They're not kids any more.

:-)

The now mundane emoticon -- the digital offspring of that Smiley face that was itself born in the 1960s -- recently celebrated its 30th birthday, a sign that the digital era is no longer the new thing. Technology and the generation it shaped have come a long way.

Millennials, too, are coming of age, the oldest within the cohort born after 1981 have reached their 30th birthday. A staggering five million of them are adults. Media coverage typically mentions the cohort in terms of its emerging political clout, their impact on the work place or how marketers see them. Millennials gets the side-show treatment as most day-to-day coverage is aimed at Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.

We're setting out to change that.

Today, we launch our series Asking Y, a long-term commitment from HuffPost Canada and AOL Canada to report on Generation Y, Millennials, Echo Boomers or simply, those 30 and younger.

Our survey highlights. Post continues below the slideshow...

With our first pieces in Asking Y, we've taken a rare look at the generation. Last month, we commissioned Abacus Data to survey 1,004 Canadian millennials to provide one of the first national snapshots of those aged 18-30. The findings make clear the challenges the generation face, but also reveal a picture that is at times unexpected.

This week you'll find:

A Tumblr that we're using to curate the best of Millennial content. Visit it at askingy.tumblr.com

Christian Cotroneo writes about a generation with high hopes and how it is faring in the face of The Great Recession

Our infographic provides an overarching view of Millennials and how they view politics, citizenry, home ownership and marriage

Millennial Jaime Morrison from Abacus Data writes about what keeps her up at night

Our Life of Y video is a fun look at some of the findings from our national survey

And we are turning to you -- our readers, many of you Millennials -- to tell us your stories.

In the coming weeks, we will be writing on the millennial view of home ownership, food choices, language and politics. In the following months, we are tackling many more topics. And we're excited to spark some debate and discussion.

Join the conversation below or tweet us @HuffPostCanada with the #AskingY tag. We may feature your comments in an upcoming post. You can also check out our Tumblr, or our dedicated page for more from the Asking Y series.

New York City Marathon Cancelled: Canadian Runners Pitch In After Race Called Off

2012-11-03T17:14:46-04:00

UPDATE: On Sunday, runners throughout New York City were volunteering. Some runners gathered to go to Staten Island, the start of marathon, with backpacks filled with donations. Others took part in an informal marathon run in Central Park where runners were asked to bring donations.

Francis Ng was ready to run a marathon in New York City on Sunday but now the Toronto marathoner is instead looking to pitch in as the region recovers from this week's massive storm.

He's just one of the many Canadian runners who found out too late that the New York City Marathon was cancelled, a race that draws more than 47,000 entrants.

Other athletes from Canada and many from around the world were already on the way to the Big Apple when the mayor's office cancelled one of the world's largest marathons. The 2011 edition of the marathon drew 1,200 Canadians and more than half of the race's participants are from outside of the United States.

Ng found out at at the departure lounge in Toronto that the race was cancelled, so instead of running through the five boroughs on Sunday morning, he's now looking to make a trip up to the Bronx to volunteer at Pelham Bay Nature Center.

"Runners seem to all be disappointed, but they all seem to understand the circumstances," Ng said in an email from his Times Square hotel. "Everyone's in the same boat so it seems to be a good bonding issue for runners."

The race was cancelled on Friday afternoon, days after mayor Mike Bloomberg announced that the race would go on. Marathon Sunday in New York draws out millions of spectators and though many thought it would lift the spirits of New Yorkers, others thought the race was drawing away resources and emergency personnel needed for recovery efforts.

At the race expo, sports clothing manufacturers were still selling running gear at deep discounts, promising to give all proceeds to the Red Cross.

Race signs displayed at the NYC Marathon expo.

Frank Famularo from Mississauga arrived in New York early on Friday and had already picked up his bib when he found out the race was cancelled. He had landed earlier in the day in New Jersey and saw the lines of cars waiting hours to get gas.

Famularo understands the decision to cancel, but noted that it was a massive financial burden to those who decided to take the trip. He won his bib through a contest and noted that hockey commentator Nick Kypreos was also supposed to run the race.

"There are people who are coming from South Africa, South America, Europe, Asia and they came in yesterday," he said from his hotel in Manhattan. "No one is really questioning whether it's a good decision."

Famularo, who has run other marathons, thought that the move earlier in the week would signify that New York would be "back on its feet." He noted that the runners in town are spending, giving the financial boost the race brings to the city every year. On Sunday, he plans to join other runners who will congregate to Central Park, the finish area of the marathon, and run a few loops, then look for opportunities to volunteer.

Ng will be headed up to the Bronx when he would have been in Staten Island Sunday at 10 a.m.. But he has some plans to do what all runners do while they're in town.

"Going to start with a short run in the morning, " he wrote. "Might even wear the bib -- and then head to a park to do volunteer cleanup."

UPDATE: Sunday, runner Francis Ng tweeted this from the Bronx where he is volunteering

.

Tree damage in da Bronx twitter.com/frankis5/statu…
— Fran (@frankis5) November 4, 2012

Plagiarism or Not, The Globe's Reaction Matters Most

2012-09-24T14:45:41-04:00

UPDATE: 10:55 p.m. ET Monday.

The Globe's editor in chief John Stackhouse has responded to the Margaret Wente crisis, saying that the work "did not meet the standards of The Globe and Mail." He said Wente has faced disciplinary action, without disclosing details. Also, the public editor Sylvia Stead is now reporting to the publisher. Previously, she was reporting to the editor in chief.

At the heart of the plagiarism scandal hitting the Globe and Mail is the role of the journalistic institution in an era of transparency. How the newspaper navigates its way through this crisis will show if the "old grey lady" has lost her way in a digital age.

Globe columnist Margaret Wente has come under investigation after allegations of plagiarism that started with the Media Culpa blog by writer Carol Wainio. The Globe has since said that it's looking into Wente's work. Meanwhile, this story has been propelled by social media and other coverage led largely by digital sites, including must-reads by John Miller, Colby Cosh and a host of others who are doing the public editor's investigation for her.

The Globe's public editor, Sylvia Stead, says the newspaper investigates all complaints (much to the chagrin of some watchers), but I won't spend time on the legitimacy of the allegations, which other worthy posts and columns have covered off.

(Full disclosure: as I told a writer seeking my views on this "hot story," I am a former Globe employee. I spent more than eight years working in the newsroom, helped to launch globeandmail.com and most recently served as editor of the same site until May, 2011. I know Stead, who hired me as an intern in 1998, and I'm familiar with Globe culture, for good and bad. These are also my personal opinions, and do not reflect the Huffington Post Canada's position on the story, which our news staff will report fully and factually.)

So why do the Wente allegations warrant a story? On Friday, I asked our staff to cover this story as I do believe the Globe's reaction to the allegations on Friday was a newsworthy event. Many publications in other parts of the world have had to deal with plagiarism or allegations of plagiarism, and make no mistake, the stature of the columnist and the reputation of a national newspaper makes this newsworthy.

There is also the question of the public editor and whom they serve. In conversations I've had with colleagues at other publications in the past few days, a constant talking point zeros in on the independence of a public editor. Stead reports to editor-in-chief John Stackhouse, the head of Globe editorial. In other shops, the public editor (or ombudsman) serves a publisher or president, which ensures they act as a voice for the reader rather than the newsroom.

In the case of Wente, the question has to be asked: Is the Globe trying to protect her, or should it be looking to protect its own reputation? Thankfully, the digital age has brought about an era of transparency, but also an urgency on how that transparency unfolds.

I've watched the decisiveness (and reluctance) with which other media outlets have moved to discipline journalists who are tainted with plagiarism or fabrication allegations, most recently at the New Yorker and Wired in the case of writer Jonah Lehrer. The case of Fareed Zakaria at Time and CNN also comes to mind. Journalists no doubt remember names such as Jayson Blair, Stephen Glass and Janet Cooke, and more recently Sari Horwitz from the Washington Post.

Plagiarism and fabrications hurt the craft of journalism because they chip away at public trust in our journalistic institutions. If our readers can't trust one of us, can they trust any of us? If getting the real story is at the heart of every journalist's mission, how they get at the facts that help the truth emerge is also important.

What is notable about this story is how the Globe stayed silent while Wainio was a lone voice in the blogosphere. The latest post she wrote shocked many journalists, and the resulting fuel of social media forced the Globe's Stead to respond. Many have pointed out that Stead referred to Wainio as "anonymous," as if to diminish her investigation.

Last year, when then-Research In Motion's CEO Mike Lazaridis took days to apologize to customers for a global system outage, many noted the responsibility of a company to communicate with its customers. The apparent lack of care shown by RIM's upper management to the needs of its customers was obvious, and the apology was not only the right thing to do, but a necessary one amid hashtags and a Twitter backlash that showed a real crisis in confidence in the smartphone maker.

Last week, RIM's new CEO took hours to address yet another outage.

That lesson seems apropos for the Globe, in a time when a tweet can spark a thousand more, when media companies need to think about their relevance on a day-to-day basis, when readers are more engaged than ever with their news. In the age of social media, one-way communication is over.

So as I watch -- as a fellow journalist and a former Globe employee -- on how this vaunted newspaper handles this crisis, I think how it reacts in the coming days will speak to the standards it wishes to hold itself to. In the digital age, public trust can be earned as quickly as it takes to do a Google search or read a few tweets -- and that trust can just as quickly be lost.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly called Carol Wainio's blog 'Mea Culpa' instead of 'Media Culpa'.

Canada Olympic Marathon: Running Booms As Dylan Wykes, Eric Gillis And Reid Coolsaet To Compete Sunday

2012-08-10T10:10:58-04:00

UPDATE, Aug. 12: Dylan Wykes finished in 20th in the marathon in a time of 2:15:26. Fellow Canadians Eric Gillis finished 22nd (2:16) and Reid Coolsaet (2:16:29) in 27th.

Dylan Wykes’ road to London began with a fall, at the start line with 7,000 runners behind him, his knees scraped and bloodied by the slip. Some two hours and 10 minutes later, he put the finishing touches on a searing performance in Rotterdam, the second fastest ever marathon time by a Canadian and a ticket to the Olympics.

Wykes, a Kingston, Ont. native now based in Vancouver, knows he has no logical chance to medal while representing Canada among a deeply talented field that is dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians.

On Sunday morning, the event will get its big showcase. In these Games, perhaps more than any in the past, the marathon hits a cross road with a sport that’s experiencing a boom. Rightly so, as the marathon was an event created for the Olympics and the 26.2-mile route was forged on the streets of London more than a century ago. The Olympic marathon has historically closed the Games as one of the final events, with the winner entering a packed stadium to take their victory lap.

“It’s the biggest stage,” Wykes told HuffPost Canada as he was training at altitude in Switzerland before the Olympics. For Wykes, a top 25 performance is a goal, and a top 10 finish a dream. “There are guys who have run 2:04, there are guys who are six minutes faster [than his personal best].”

In the 12 years since Canada last sent a man to run the Olympic marathon, the sport has gone through a massive change, as a surge of popularity ushers in the next generation of runners.

A SPORT FINDS ITS LEGS

Since 1908, when Olympic organizers decided to add two kilometres to race course so that royalty could view the finish, the 42.2-kilometre marathon has become the modern everyperson’s Everest, the bucket list item that thousands upon thousands of men and women have now crossed off.

The word marathon has been synonymous with epic times, seeped into public consciousness, and applied to sedentary affairs like the airing of TV reruns, extended tennis matches or similarly drawn-out affairs, even as the marathon records continue to get faster.

In big-city marathons, where professional marathoners earn their money, the elites are joined by runners of all stripes, sizes and speeds. The biggest of them all bring in more than 45,000 runners. The most recent running boom, has seen women take on the sport (and racing) in massive, greying numbers. Last year, almost 14 million people participated in a road race in the United States, with 55 per cent of those finishers were women. Canada has experienced a similar boom, particularly in the half marathon.

Dylan Wykes.

Last year in the United States and Canada, marathons saw more than 550,000 finishers, up 12 per cent from two years prior. Meanwhile, the more popular half-marathon distance grew to an astounding 1.6 million finishers in the United States when in 2000 482,000 people finished the 13.1 mile distance.

Running, the sport that seemed so simple, has become big business, raising more than $1-billion for charity in the last year. The lifestyle spills over onto sports wear (Lululemon), shoes (support or barefoot), nutrition (Gatorade, coconut water, chocolate milk) and even social circles, like group training runs done in one of 114 Running Room retail stores or the now well-established running blog community.

So common is the marathon that it does not escape popular culture.

More participation by citizens have happened at the same time that long-distance running has resurfaced in the United States and Canada. The 2004 Olympic marathon spurred on much North American interest after Americans Meb Keflezighi won a silver and Deena Kastor a bronze in Athens. And runners such as Ryan Hall, a California native whose best times put him in the hunt against the Kenyan elite, put a lot of hope that speed and endurance can come from North America.

To be sure, many other sports other than running have seen massive growth, but the connection the recreational runner has with the sport’s elites is unparalleled. At the start line of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts every Patriot’s Day in April, the few dozen elite men women charge up and down the technical course, chasing more than $900,000 (U.S.) in purse money and the prize of the world's most revered marathon.

TheBoston Marathon, widely regarded as the amateur runner's crowning achievement, demand for the 21,000 spots has grown so quickly in recent years that organizers have had to toughen qualifying standards.

That mixing of recreational and elite is a rare occurrence in any sport.

RUSH TO THE FINISH

Meanwhile, the times are getting faster. When Canada last fielded a marathoner at the Olympics, the world record was 2:06:06, but in the last six years, a series of blistering performances saw that time lowered first below 2:04, with now the current setting of 2:03:38. The field of Kenyans is so deep that the world record holder for Kenya did not make his country’s team. Marathon times during the Olympics are not expected to be on par with world record as ideal temperatures are usually during the fall months. But in Beijing, Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru defied the skeptics who never thought fast times could be done in such hot climes. He clocked in at 2:06:32. Wanjiru died in 2011 after falling from a balcony.

This Sunday’s Olympic marathon is held in a city that now convenes one of the world's biggest marathons. Unlike Beijing, which four years ago featured miles upon miles of lonely running, organizers are expecting wall-to-wall crowds of the looped course, as deep as First Avenue is on Marathon Day during the New York City Marathon every November.

Wykes, Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis, Canada’s three men who will be racing in London are three of the best marathoners this country has produced since Jerome Drayton carried the Canadian banner, and will be tested on whether they can lower the Canadian record of 2:10:09, a time set in 1975, before any of the three runners were born. They met tough qualifying standards at races in the past year.

Wykes, who describes his preparation for the marathon as his “sole job,” says he’s approaching the race by trying not to get too excited. “I want to try to run a smart first half and not let the emotions of the Olympics get to me and hopefully let the emotions channel the last half,” he told HuffPost.

Just a few days into the Games, Wykes was told to attend a luncheon with other athletes, and suddenly found himself face to face with the Queen. Making conversation, Wykes told her he’d be running by Buckingham Palace, as the Games come to a close.

"I told her she could watch my race from her window at home," he wrote on his blog a few days ago. "She politely told me she would prefer to watch on TV."

Back home in Canada, runners in the midst of their marathon training seasons will be making room in their weekend running schedule to do the same.

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The men’s marathon is on Sunday, Aug. 12, start time 11 a.m. in London or 6 a.m. ET.

Kenny Yum is HuffPost Canada’s managing editor and a 20-time marathoner. He writes on running, racing and training at his running blog A Whole Lot Of Soles.

No Need To Apologize, Paula Findlay

2012-08-04T10:44:19-04:00

Guts are a key ingredient in the makeup of any athlete who meddles in endurance sports. Just stand at the final 400 metres of any marathon, major or small, and you'll see it on the salt-stained faces of the finishers.

We like to celebrate during these Games the athletes who medal, those who stand on podiums and rack up hardware. In defeat, in agony, however, you see the true display of sportsmanship and what it takes to push the body beyond its limits.

Triathlete Paula Findlay finished last in her Olympic debut Saturday, and told the nation that she was "sorry." For any athlete who has felt the Wall, who has felt the race wasn't their day, that must be just a fraction of what she was going through. On her sport's biggest day, she must have felt both the weight of her own expectations, as well as her entire country's.

"I'm really sorry to everybody to Canada."

It was Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield who for me succinctly summed up what race day meant for his sport -- or any sport where preparation is the key. A few weeks after winning that thrilling silver medal in Beijing in 2008, he wrote:

"I felt like all I had to do was express my fitness. I wasn't hoping for miracles, simply expressing fitness earned through hard work," he wrote on a blog at the time.

Fitness is earned through hard work, and race day is an expression of all the preparation. These athletes don't go praying for a breakthrough performance, and even after the race Findlay said, "I guess my fitness is not quite up there."

It wasn't Findlay's day. It could have been a day where she would just have to stand off the course and walk away from the race.

But she didn't.

One of the most unforgettable moments I'll always associate with the Olympics is the finish of Derek Redmond, a British runner who injured himself in the midst of competition at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. In severe pain and sadness, he hobbled to the finish, in front of tens of thousands.

Making it to the finish, forcing yourself to face the line and the cameras when you don't have an ounce of energy left in you: That's guts and that's heart.

No need to apologize Paula. No need.

Kenny Yum is HuffPost Canada's managing editor and a 20-time marathoner. He blogs on running and training at A Whole Lot Of Soles.

Highlights from the 2012 London Games so far:

Dylan Wykes Olympics: Vegetarian Athlete And How He Fuels For London Marathon

2012-07-30T09:27:45-04:00

Dylan Wykes shunned meat for a vegetarian lifestyle because of ethical concerns. So like other vegetarians, every day he finds substitutes for protein, bolsters meals with supplements and yoyos on whether it was a good choice to ditch meat.

A pretty typical story of a vegetarian, except that Wykes is the fastest marathoner Canada has fielded in decades and will be toeing the line at the London Olympics, where he’ll race against some of the world’s fastest runners.

A high performance athlete, Wykes can dust off a 10K run in 30 minutes and run at a sole-wearing pace of 3:05 a kilometre for 42.2 kilometres. Food is fuel and while Olympians tune their bodies to perfection -- to go higher, stronger, faster -- the food choices they make are as crucial to their gear or training regimes.

“I’ve gone back and forth on whether it’s good to be vegetarian (and an athlete) and at times I’ve stopped,” Wykes told HuffPost Canada as he was prepping for his Aug. 12 race, one of the final events of the 2012 Games.

For non-meat eaters, the deficiency is often seen in protein and in certain minerals like iron that are seen in meat. Wykes takes in many high-protein foods that vegetarians commonly eat, like quinoa and lentils as part of every meal, meaning he’s not just consuming cheap carbohydrates.

Wykes, a native of Kingston, Ont., is one of a deep field of three athletes who are representing Canada at the Olympics. His time of 2:10:47 puts him at the world elite level, but the Canadian says his dream is to place top 10 in a field of runners who have previously clocked in from 2:04 to 2:06.

“If you do it right it can be done as an athlete,” Wykes said. “It helps you really pay attention to what you’re taking in each day.”

So here are some of Wykes’ favourite foods with high performance in mind -- and scroll down for a list of other vegetarian athletes:

Almond butter and banana
Canadian Marathoner Dylan Wykes often eats a breakfast of toast with almond butter and a banana. The meal gets him protein, carbs while bananas carry a good amount of potassium, carbs and vitamin C.

Quinoa
Quinoa (pronounced "Keen-Wah") is an ancient grain that is gaining popularity. It's a complete protein making it a great protein replacement for runners. It's typically cooked with water or a broth (two cups of liquid per cup of quinoa) and goes well with chopped vegetables and over flavorings. It has a similar consistency to couscous and is also free of gluten.

Lentils
Wykes says that he often eats lentils as part of his diet. Lentils are a great source of low-fat protein and contains fiber and iron. Iron is often needed by endurance athletes, helping your red blood cell growth, and a great source for iron for vegetarians.

Eggs
Eggs for vegetarians who can eat animal products, contain a good source of protein and is versatile so it can be used in all meals.

Soy meat
Wykes often uses fake meat as a boost of protein to his rice and pasta. There are many soy products that are common in grocery store. Another source of protein, soy products also come in similar form that meat eaters are used to, such as ground soy. That makes soy a low-fat alternative to meat products and can sub in a lot of recipes that call for ground beef.

Tofu
Tofu is soy in the traditional form used in Asian cuisine. It comes in various textures (soft to firm). It's relatively neutral taste means that it can be paired with many cuisines.

Pasta or rice
Wykes' pre-race diet doesn't stray much from any other long distance runner, where the reliance is on carbohydrates and less emphasis on protein. His pre-narathon meal will be rice or pasta, maybe with some vegetables.

Supplements and shakes
Wykes takes in some extra nutrition -- and likely hydration -- by taking supplements and shakes. Many runners post-workout shakes to get in extra protein and any minerals and electrolytes lost through sweat. Recently, chocolate milk has become a popular cheap after-run drink for the sugar/carbs and some protein.

Obesity -- Not Running -- Is the Real Health Hazard

2012-06-05T12:17:45-04:00

Legend is, the first marathoner was a man named Pheidippides, who in Ancient Greece was dispatched the distance from Marathon to Athens on foot announce victory.

"Rejoice, we conquer," were the last words he uttered, legend has it, before dying.

I crossed the finish line of my 20th marathon a few weeks ago and while my fellow runners who ran the Ottawa Marathon saw the event as a celebration of life, others see danger and death.

The Mayo Clinic's latest research made a bit of a splash in the headlines when it warned that "chronic training" or competing in endurance events -- including marathons, Iron Man races and cycling rides -- can cause injury to the heart. This scarring and changes to the heart and arteries are the culprit.

The running world recently mourned the death of Micah True, who was profiled in the book Born To Run that chronicled his barefoot running and long-distance races held in the copper canyons in Mexico. Micah was an ultra runner who died from heart complications during a daily run in March. The Mayo Clinic points to True as a possible victim of endurance running.

The latest running boom may have brought with it it GPS watches, chia seeds, ultra-marathons and Spartan contests, but the sport of running has remained essentially the same, putting one foot in front of the other. While running is made up of simple movements, it may be hard to understand why endurance athletes decide to "go long," even as the medical professionals tell you it can be bad for you.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the health spectrum, obesity rates in both the United States and Canada show that modern society has another type of crisis: In 2009 24.1 per cent of Canadians adults were obese, 34.4 per cent in the United States.

Those who invoke Micah True will no doubt remind themselves of the death of Jim Fixx in 1984 as the original reason why running was bad for you. Fixx, who wrote The Complete Book of Running, helped make fitness, jogging and exercise popular with the masses. When he died of a heart attack while out on the daily run, Fixx proved that running was bad for you.

The Mayo report does acknowledge to all the good exercise does for health, noting it is highly effective for treating "many common chronic diseases and improves cardiovascular heath an longevity."

"However, as with any pharmacologic agent, a safe upper dose limit potentially exists, beyond which the adverse effects of physical exercise, such as musculoskeletal trauma and cardiovascular stress, may outweigh its benefits," lead author of the report, James O'Keefe, writes.

Marathoners have a saying: "Respect the distance." We mean it in that 42.2 kilometres or 26.2 miles is no task to take lightly. Most marathoners, and certainly repeat marathoners like myself, treat the marathon seriously, paying proper preparation that's needed to tackle a rigorous endurance event. Marathons are not bucket-list events, nor are those of us who repeat the distance akin to the famed "weekend warriors" who sit sedentary for five days then go all out on Sunday mornings.

When you see a marathoner at the end of race, you must know that they've trained for up to four months of long distance training, and often years of running before that. We don't go cold into the distance.

The marathon is still an exclusive event. Simply said, not everyone does it. At the Ottawa Marathon, some 40,000 plus runners participated, most of them in the 5K, 10K and half marathon and 4,300 in the marathon. Last year in the United States, the number of marathon finishers jumped 46 per cent from 2000, some 518,000 people. If we were to believe that 78 million American adults are obese, there's one group of people that should be more worried than another.

To put all this research into perspective, another recent study by John Hopkins researchers says .75 per 100,000 runners have died at marathons, making it a relatively low-risk event.

A week after my last marathon, I signed up for my next race. To simply ask marathoners to give up training and races for short antiseptic exercises reveal the problem with how medical practitioners see fitness today, as if you can prescribe a run as you would a list of drugs or bottle up a fitness regimen that you can down in one gulp. Find me at fault, but I find my health out there in one- to three-hour tours, where I can disconnect from modern sedentary living and reconnect with natural movement.

Just this past weekend, South Africans watched with rapt attention as competitors finished the legendary Comardes ultramarathon, a race of 89 kilometres. At the 12-hour mark the gun goes off and every second after that marks the difference between finishers and those who have failed. Why do they run?

"Live to run, run to live."

Happy 1st Birthday Huffington Post Canada: VIP Best Wishes, Editors' Highlights (VIDEO)

2012-05-24T06:47:00-04:00

There is no other speed in digital than full throttle, and so the first year has come and gone in a flash at The Huffington Post Canada. This week, we’re excited to mark our first birthday.

Behind the scenes, HuffPost Canada has been a hectic workplace. We’ve expanded to nine sections, launched Le Huffington Post Quebec and we have plans for editions in British Columbia and Alberta. The pace never ends as we charge forward.

Over the past year, we’ve been proud that our social news gathering has garnered new readers. We love having conversations with you and from watching our community grow, both in our comments and on social networks, you’re enjoying it too.

VIEW: OUR FAVOURITE HOME PAGES

We’re proud of the work we’ve done, from covering the NDP convention to seeing how our Mind the Gap series resonated and how our readers in Quebec wanted to talk about and share our stories about the student protests. The social initiatives (such as #citizenstyle) we’ve launched in our Living and Style sections have just been fun to watch unfold. In just our first year, we’re proud to have won a reporting award from the Canadian Association of Journalists for our labour coverage.

GALLERY: OUR MOST VIRAL STORIES

In our newsrooms in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, we have a group of passionate, talented and hard-working journalists. My favourite moment of the past year was to play a small part in building this team that does all the awesome work you see every day before and after our first birthday.

We have here some of our favourite front page splashes and best moments from our staff.

Kenny Yum, Managing Editor

SEE ALSO: OUR FAVOURITE BLOGS OF THE YEAR

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We asked HuffPost Canada editors and reporters for their favourite moments and highlights of the year. A selection of responses:

There are too many to count! I've been lucky enough to play a part in all the launches, from HuffPost Canada to Living to Style to HuffPost Quebec (and a small role in HuffPost Travel). There's nothing like seeing everyone's hard work come to life and watching the public respond to it. That, and meeting Arianna of course. --Lisa Yeung, lifestyle managing editor

It’s been a year of so many highlights, but two stand out for me. The first was MP Charlie Angus’ blog on Attawapiskat. It was an opinion piece with a video and a few strong images on a topic that had, until that moment, barely registered in the mainstream media. Suddenly the blog was being socially shared by the thousands. You could see the power of the HuffPost platform in action as it gave voice to thousands of digitally plugged-in Canadians who cared about what was happening to this First Nation community in Ontario. That’s all it took to make Attawapiskat a national story that no one in Ottawa could ignore.

The other highlight for me has been our daily interaction with our readers. It’s a rare and special thing in the news media business to feel like you have a close relationship with your audience. At HuffPost, our readers are equal partners in what we do and it’s such a pleasure to experience the news with them. Be it the emails we exchange with readers who flag corrections in our stories, to our witty Twitter following, to our fantastic Facebook debaters, it’s been a privilege getting to know them. --Brodie Fenlon, senior news editor and "Day 1" veteran

HuffPost Canada Style launched in December, so the site's relatively new, but we've crammed a ton into only a few months of life. We've covered everything from Toronto Fashion Week to awards shows -- we've even highlighted the style of people and politicians at the NDP convention. We've also been at the forefront of breaking style news, being the first news source to reveal Bell Media cancelled the long-time show Fashion Television. We've even established popular franchises, including "Put To The Test" and "Minute 16." From engaging the public with the interactive #CitizenStyle feature to discussing fashion trends on Keek, Facebook and Twitter, we're engaging Canada's style audience in a fresh new way. --Sarah Kelsey, style editor

Top one so far has to be being the last news organization left in the room at the NDP convention, working away while CTV News packed up loudly beside us. --Michael Bolen, politics editor

Working for The Huffington Post means I'm given opportunities I wouldn't have with other organizations -- like being one of only three media outlets allowed to interview Lance Armstrong when he was in Toronto (not to mention letting the interview run for 15 minutes longer than allotted) and having a candid Q&A with biographer Sally Bedell Smith before any other outlet.

It is both inspiring and fun to work at a company that takes work and play equally seriously -- the #snowballfight and #myspring were great ways to show how news organizations can use social media for engagement without always being about the stories, and give us a chance to have a great time with our readers. --Rebecca Zamon, living editor

Certainly the proudest moment for HuffPost Canada Business had to be Rachel Mendleson winning the award for labour reporting at the Canadian Association of Journalists Awards.

For me as business editor, I am particularly proud of Mind The Gap, the series on income inequality from which Rachel's award-winning article came.

Through Mind The Gap, HuffPost has delved deeper into income inequality issues in Canada than any major media source has in recent memory.

Not to mention, the series has been a great way to have fun, both for us in the newsroom and for our readers. Aside from hard-hitting investigations into economic segregation, we've also spotlighted the crazy things rich people are spending money on, including the most expensive houses for sale in the country; we've reported on how social status changes your genes' expression; and discovered that rich people are likelier to cheat than the poor.

And the best part of all? Knowing that this was only our first year, and it's all only just begun! --Dan Tencer, business editor

Working on not one, but two breaking stories at our Christmas party. --Ron Nurwisah, news editor and community manager

Nothing beats when a front page splash sends chills up your spine. Some splashes can seem perfunctory or rushed, but others have a perfect play on words or imagery that puts the emotion in a story right in the reader's face. That's something that other sites just can't (or won't) do. The only experience that comes close to it is when a blogger hits one out of the park -- I'm often in awe of the talent that has appeared on the left rail since day one. --Jacqueline Delange, associate editor

Even though I started as a newbie grad and intern, I had the chance to write some of the most exciting and researched stories for the Huffington Post Canada. When we launched Living in September, I wrote a story about women leadership failing in Canada. In fall, we also wrote a feature on skin bleaching -- an issue that I've been passionate about for years. Covering Fashion Week, having tea with Oprah's crew and interviewing the Survivorman are some of my favourite highlights. --Arti Patel, associate living editor

My proudest moment at HuffPost was winning the Canadian Association of Journalists' inaugural labour reporting award. I was really nervous throughout the awards ceremony and my acceptance speech (I still don't really know was I said!) but having so many coworkers there was amazing. We had by far the most fun table and I will never forget how psyched everyone was to win, and how quickly they got the word out on Twitter and our site. The fact that so many more folks came out to celebrate after the gala is a testament to the awesomeness that is our team. --Rachel Mendelson, business reporter

SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE SPLASHES

OUR MOST VIRAL STORIES

HuffPost Canada's First Year -- Disruptin' the Hood

2012-05-23T11:35:13-04:00

Where are the readers? It's a question that many of us in the news industry have been asking. I won't lie: When I was asked last month at a conference what my biggest fear was, what keeps me up, I answered, "Where are the readers? Where have they gone?"

A year after we launched The Huffington Post Canada, I can confidently say that I think we've helped win back some of you. Our approach to storytelling, and how our journalism is conducted, and how it is shaped by social media has helped us answer that question.

A year on, I can tell you that readers are coming. As of April, 2.9 million Canadians visited Huffington Post sites to the tune of 415 million page views. We have more than 800 bloggers, who have contributed more than 5,000 posts. Our readers are so active, leaving 12,000 comments a week on our site for a total of 340,000 comments to date.

A few months ago, a piece ran in The Globe and Mail about us: Is The Huffington Post the future of journalism? "The future of journalism" is always a heady discussion I see flashing by on my Twitter stream.

The media space, like the tech environment we're a part of, has seen its share of disruptors. They emerge and almost instantly become the new brands, seemingly appearing out of nowhere: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Instagram, Pinterest are examples of the idea that challenging the status quo was a formula for success.

The Huffington Post is a disruptor. What I love about us is that we are digital -- end of story. Many of you have heard the cries from news executives who say, "Put the digital guys in charge." You hear others who use the words "digital first." They are talking about media that are rooted in other businesses. In my business, digital is the business. Period.

Years ago, HuffPost adopted the fact that with digital, newspapers no longer fight against newspapers, portals against portals, T.V. against T.V. But another factor has emerged as well -- and it's important to not lose sight of that: We are in the battle for readers and for their time. Time, not news, is the suck, and every platform is on the same battlefield for that time.

Time -- sucked away by longer work hours, hobbies and our overheated smartphones -- pit media against radio, T.V., movies, Twitter, books, exercise regimes and your favourite HBO series. We battle across those platforms and against those same players.

We believe content has no barriers: The medium changed the form, but think of it as an evolution. This day, I believe we have more tools to tell stories. Video, Social, Text or a mashup of all of the above. We create our journalistic constructs so they are read from beginning to end.

A few of our highlights from this past year:

A blog from Charlie Angus. It was titled "What if They Declared an Emergency and No One Came?" It had garnered thousands of shares on FB, and countless retweets. The story was Attawapiskat, and the blog was the first time the story got out to the masses. Seventy-thousand FB shares, 1,200 Tweets, 900 comments and by that Thursday, Charlie was calling it a "digital storm" that was forcing its way into the public debates on that same floor.

The platform we have is built for social because it is social. The debate we foster is amazing. We are a social news experience. Social is not a skill set, it is in our DNA, and how we communicate with you, our community. Everything we do flows to social and we see the results in the high level of participation in our comments to the amount of sharing that happens around our stories. We shape our content based on feedback from you. And we have countless examples, including a few memorable hashtags, #beereh, #giftgurus, #snowballfight, #myspring, #huffquiz.

We have a tone and personality, and it helps us connect to our audience. It is part of our identity and I think you love us for that.

We support great journalism -- to not always be where the scrum is. There are many examples throughout our daily coverage, but I'll point to how Althia Raj covered the CETA trade negotiations and was at many times the lone Ottawa reporter covering the NDP leadership race, and our business team's thoughtful and well-reported Mind the Gap series.

HuffPost is exciting because it has opened the door to a new audience that have distanced themselves from news. We are happy to engage and inform that audience. HuffPost is great simply because we now have another voice among many -- who can argue against that?

To my colleagues throughout the industry: Let's do ourselves a favour. Let's stop talking about the future of journalism. Let's stop hand wringing about what outlet is doing what, what territory they are pushing. Let's stop laying blame -- at culture, leadership. Let's focus on listening to what our audience is doing. What they are not doing. "Be where the puck is" is my motto because I translate that to mean be where the reader is.

Our living editor Rebecca Zamon told us about a dinner she had recently with her husband's cousins, where she talked with their 86-year-old aunt.

"When I told her where I worked," Rebecca said, "she exclaimed, 'I love the Huffington Post Canada -- I read it every day! Keep up the great work.' 86!"

A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with my girlfriend's family, when her 18-year-old niece, started talking about the news. "The Huffington Post, I read that!" she said, referring to an RSS reader on her new Macbook. As I told her she was my now-favourite family member, another person flipped on her iPhone and showed me her news app, with that big unmistakable HuffPost icon. So there's where the readers are.

SEE HUFFPOST FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY COVERAGE HERE.

This blog is adapted from a keynote delivered to the Canadian Association of Journalists annual conference in April.

Jesus And Other Surprising Images Caught By Readers (PHOTOS)

2011-11-03T07:51:01-04:00

Our story on the shocking ultrasound that looked like a man's face on a testicular tumour sparked a slew of submissions by HuffPost readers.

It’s amazing what can appear before our eyes as we’re driving, making jelly or just looking up into the sky.

One reader saw Jesus on the back of a van, another thought he saw a dragon just above the horizon in the dark. We did see the
Jesus image clearly. It took us a while longer to make out the mysterious creature.

So here are some of our top picks of reader pictures in the photo gallery below.