The purpose of the Callaghan Valley Sport & Cultural Society is to promote, foster, encourage, and assist in the development of healthy lifestyles through sport and culture.
Participants of the Whistler Spirit Run will display values of fairness and honesty, integrity and inclusiveness, in their pursuit of individual excellence and personal growth.
August 11, 1939 – December 28, 2006
The Whistler Spirit Run is the realization of Frank Reynolds’ vision to provide a world class running event in the beautiful backyard of British Columbia.
"Focus on the process not the outcome"
A Vancouver native and long-time North Shore resident, Frank Reynolds coached with the NorWesters Track and Field Club for over 17 years. Frank had a profound impact on track and field and cross-country at the national, provincial, and local levels. He was a favorite of many athletes, devoting considerable time and energy to developing the North Shore's best middle and long distance runners through the use of both sport science and intuitive coaching methods. He began his coaching career under the guidance of mentor coach Marek Jedrzejek and worked diligently to advance his coaching education completing his NCCP level 4 through the National Coaching Institute in Vancouver in 2003. Frank enjoyed passing on his wisdom at coaching workshops and in published journal articles and was continually educating himself in the latest coaching philosophies and techniques, a testament to Frank’s devotion to life-long learning.
Over the years Frank was the recipient of numerous coaching awards to celebrate his success, including the Coach of the Year at the North Shore Sports Awards in 2003, The President’s award from Sport BC for his work with the Coaches Association of BC and BC Blind Sports in 2005, and the BC Athletics Excellence in Coaching award, also in 2005.
In addition to directing the NorWesters middle and long distance group, Frank had the opportunity to assist numerous athletes through coaching assignments at the juvenile, junior, and senior level and contributed quite significantly to the success and enjoyment of the various teams. In recent years he had the opportunity to coach a number of national teams, an honor he was quite proud of. These assignments included the International Blind Sports Association World Championships and North American 5km Challenge Team Championship in 2003, the Scotland Junior Tour and Chiba Ekiden Road Race Relay in Japan in 2004, and the World Half-Marathon Championships in 2005. Frank’s NorWester athletes have achieved success at all levels of competition, from local high school zone meets to provincial and national championships, though he would be apt to attribute athlete’s performances to their own dedication and perseverance rather than his coaching prowess. Among the athletes coached, Chris Winter’s bronze medal performance at the 2003 IAAF World Youth Track and Field Championships stands out as one of Frank’s crowning coaching accomplishments.
“Work hard but work together and you will all be stronger, faster, and become more confident in doing so”
Not merely a coaching great, Frank was also an outstanding athlete in his time. As a runner in his youth, Frank set a new Canadian record in the 1600m sprint relay while attending King Edward High School in Vancouver in 1958. While always an avid outdoor enthusiast, Frank returned to the sport of running in full force as a Master’s athlete with the Hershey Harriers in the 70’s and 80’s blazing to victory in the 800m at the Canadian Master’s Championship in 1981. Moving up in distance with age, Frank counted one of his greatest running achievements as winning a 5000m race in 1984 over the likes of Bob Schull, a former Olympic Champion and recording a marathon personal best time in the low 2:30s.
“There are no shortcuts. To put the icing on the cake you have to build the cake first”.
A promoter of the sport at all levels Reynolds contributed substantial time as the chair of Cross Country for BC Athletics and as a board member of the Coaches Association of BC. He also served as treasurer of the BC Blind Sports Board of Directors for eight years. A strong advocate for the advancement and recognition of coaching in the province, Frank worked with other CABC board members to raise the profile of coaching and heighten awareness of coaching education opportunities.
“My fondest wish is to see young kids running from here to there instead of being driven and that the happiest day for a teenager is not the day they can get a driver’s license but the day they can beat the bus on a two mile run home from school”.
Away from running Frank enjoyed spending time with his close friends and family and especially cherished the rejuvenating effect of time spent with his grandchildren. Frank was a lover of nature in all its forms and took pleasure from many outdoor activities including cycling, hiking, gardening, photography, camping and skiing. An avid bird watcher Frank could often be seen walking the local trails, binoculars hung around his neck, eyes keenly aimed towards the sky, observing even the tiniest, most camouflaged feathers. He also participated in many organized bird counts and his love of nature and birds was always evident by his observations of the birds and species encountered at workout locations. Frank was also an accomplished musician, especially on the Dobro, a resonator lap guitar, and the acoustic guitar which he had played since his youth. He played and composed music, individually and collectively with different bands over the years and his favorite musical genre, bluegrass, could be heard strumming away on his answering machine. An annual weekend retreat to the Wintergrass Festival left Frank inspired yet dreary for weeks from the late night jamming.
Beyond the incredible success that Frank experienced as a coach he took his greatest pleasure in teaching life skills and nurturing his athletes to develop into virtuous young adults. This sentiment is reflected in his mission statement which declared that “my reason for coaching is to assist each athlete to develop his or her potential in the sport of track & field and help each achieve performance based goals. In doing so I also strive to assist with or influence the development of each athlete's attitudes, values, ethics and morals for a quality life after competition." Frank’s weekly writings espoused the qualities of perseverance, commitment, dedication, hard-work, sacrifice, responsibility, accountability, and reflection as integral to performing positively on the track and in life.
“I believe that sport teaches you what is really worthwhile in life and how much you can get out of hard work, sacrifice, and commitment”.
He was an incredible motivator who found a way to encourage all his athletes to reach and achieve beyond their own belief. Furthermore, he made all his athletes feel special and recognized their unique individual talents with a strong belief in their potential as runners and as humans. Frank was an eternally positive man who stressed the importance of fun in training and racing and encouraged all to ‘focus on the process, not the outcome’, a credo which relates equally to sport as it does life. His lasting contribution will proceed unmatched and his legacy will persist in the lives of all those whom were touched by Frank.
Whistler Spirit Run & Festival - 2009 - September 26 & 27 - Watch for details here!