For Tobi Rempel, running has never been about chasing perfection. It’s about finding space — to breathe, to move, to be herself — in a life filled with kids, work and responsibility.
Races and podiums simply followed.
Rempel, now 56, had been a volleyball player and casual runner before having her first baby in her late teens. When she tried to return to physical activity after the birth of her three children, simply getting to scheduled gym classes felt impossible.
“You’re running out the door trying to get to a class and somebody’s got to go to the bathroom or somebody’s having a temper tantrum,” recalls Rempel. “It was just hard.”
A friend suggested running would be a good fit for her busy life as a stay-at-home mom of three. Soon, Rempel was waking up at 5 a.m. to log miles before her children woke.
“Running was just about me getting time to myself to get a break,” she says. “It made me happier during the day. When you’re doing something for yourself, you feel better about yourself, you’re healthy, you’re a good role model for your kids.”
Rempel signed up for her first race – the Bayer 10K Classic – in 1995. The race was hot and she felt so sick that she crossed the finish line without giving any thought to her time or placing. Later, the race organizer called to ask why she hadn’t attended the awards ceremony to pick up her third-place prize.
“I had no idea,” Rempel says.
In the three decades since, Rempel has toed the start line so many times — and stood on so many podiums — that she’s lost track of them all. She does remember the longer events, which she says suit her strengths. “I’m not super fast, but I can keep a pace and keep going,” she says.
After completing 10 half marathons, Rempel ran her first marathon at the Calgary Stampede Run Off in 1998. She’s since finished 58 marathons along with 10 ultramarathons and 14 IronMan triathlons. Her podium finishes include back-to-back wins at the Saskatchewan Marathon in 2005 and 2006 and wins at the Queen City Marathon in 2003 and 2005. Her 2005 Queen City Marathon victory came just two weeks after racing IronMan Penticton, prompting Regina Leader-Post reporter Murray McCormick to write that she may hold the unofficial title of Saskatchewan’s fittest woman.
Most of Rempel’s races have been across Western Canada, but she’s also a multiple-time finisher of the Las Vegas Marathon and ran the Boston Marathon in 2011. Her most memorable race is the 2006 Saskatchewan Marathon, where she won in 3:18:33 on a tough course in cold, wet conditions in front of her friends and family. Part of what made the race so meaningful was the support of her then-12-year-old son Zak, who ran alongside her in the final kilometre when she thought her legs would give out.
Despite her success, Rempel has never worked with a coach. She worried her busy life wouldn’t allow her to follow a rigid training plan and doesn’t believe she ever trained to her full potential.
“I don’t want to say I didn’t take it seriously because I loved doing it, but it just wasn’t my priority,” she says.
When Rempel pursued a bachelor of education degree from the University of Saskatchewan in the early 2000s as a mature student, one of the Huskie track and field coaches invited her to train with the team, but Rempel declined. Her kids were teenagers by then, and she found more joy in supporting their athletic pursuits than chasing her own.
Around the time Rempel was going back to school, she was also dealing with chronic plantar fasciitis. Running friends who were also triathletes encouraged Rempel to try a tri so she could spend more time training off her feet. Rempel soon realized she was able to run just as fast coming off the bike as she was coming fresh off a road racing starting line – something she jokingly attributes to the fact she notoriously shows up to running events late and doesn’t give herself time to warm up. Rempel knew she wasn’t devoting as much time to swim and bike training as her friends, but was still often able to perform well because of how strong she could run after swimming and cycling.
These days, Rempel is as busy as ever. She’s teaching full-time and feels blessed to have the opportunity to be a hands-on grandmother. Her plantar fasciitis still acts up and she has a lot of pain in her right ankle, which was severely injured in 2024 when Rempel was clipped by a truck while road biking. But Rempel has no intention of giving up running. She still loves the sport, especially the social side of racing.
Rempel hopes to eventually reach 60 marathons and complete one more IronMan triathlon — even if that means run-walking the course.
“It’s hard on the ego, because I know if I put more time into it, I’d do better. But, on the other hand, I’m still happy I’m doing it,” Rempel says. “I don’t care what my time is anymore and that’s the gift of getting older. I always want to run. I always want to be fit and active and now I have grandchildren.
“It’s still kind of my time. And that’s why I started running in the first place.”
