Lysanne Goyer practices what she preaches.
A health psychologist, Goyer is a marathon runner who decided it was time for more of a challenge – so she's running her next marathon on Mount Everest and in the Himalayas.
"When I finished the Boston marathon this year, I thought I had to do something else than to run for myself. I had to give meaning for my running," she said, explaining how she decided to run to promote healthy lifestyles.
The trek is not easy; the 42 kilometer-long marathon starts at 5000 kilometers, where oxygen is thin.
Racers run downhill along some rough terrain.
At 45, Goyer may be a little older than some of the other runners, but she has experience -- she also ran the demanding Great Wall of China marathon.
"It was the hardest, and that's certainly the marathon which qualified me for the Everest marathon," she said, adding that she became fascinated with the beauty of the Himalayas.
The St-Clement Academy in the Town of Mount-Royal will be following Goyer's every step as she promotes positive lifestyle choices and raises money for research into juvenile heart disease.
"Here I am, a health psychologist who works in companies to help people develop lifestyle, why don't I use this time to go in schools in the neighbourhood and provide them with this extraordinary event and provide them with my knowledge? This became the essence of the marathon," explained goyer.
Preparing a trip to the notoriously inhospitable mountain isn't easy. Goyer has prepared a checklist and knows sherpas will only carry part of her equipment – she will be responsible for the rest.
Though the race takes place on Dec. 2, Goyer will spend three weeks in the region to acclimatize herself before the event.
And on the big day, her finish time won't matter, she said.
"I don't have anything to prove out there. What I have to prove is what I'm doing right now and it's working, and creating an interest," she said.
