At four years old, Megan Evan’s parents strapped little skis onto her winter boots and sent her
off to a nearby skiing program. Since then, skiing has been a major part of Evan’s life as she returns to the Nordic Skiing varsity team at Carleton University next season.
She sat down to chat with the Charlatan about the women’s nordic skiing team, their upcoming season, her skiing history and summer endeavours. Evans was the number two ranked nordic skier in the Canadian College and University Nordic Championships (CCUNC) this previous season, and was instrumental in the Raven’s Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship along with their second place finish at the CCUNC.
Evans, a third-year neuroscience and mental health student, said she is looking forward to spending some quality time with the team while getting training in.
“This season looks very similar to last year,” Evans said.
She said her team’s goal this year is to take home a gold medal in the OUA Nordic Championships in Canmore, something they accomplished this previous year as the hosts.
“It was super fun and we had a great team,” Evans said as she recalled them bringing home the medal.
The team practices three mornings per week, according to Evans. These practices alternate between roller skating in Gatineau park, running for cardio and working out in the gym. She said the team is looking forward to races starting at the end of first semester on the weekends.
She added she enjoys travelling with the team as part of training.
“It is really fun to travel with the team and improve for the future. I like to get some good skiing in before the season starts,” Evans said.
In the summer, Evans said she keeps up with running, roller skating, and biking. She also works as a firefighter, which she said is a different type of training but still a workout.
As students, it can be difficult to balance school with extracurricular activities. Evans said her and her teammates handle the pressure by having great time-management skills, staying well-rested, and eating healthy.
Evans said she started skiing because she enjoyed spending time with her friends and hitting the slopes on the weekends.
“Once I got older, I learned to love the competition involved in racing and setting goals for myself,” she said. “Ultimately, the main reason why I stuck with it is just because I love skiing so much and because of how great it is for my physical and mental health.”
Although Evans has had a successful skiing career, she has had to endure a difficult injury. In 2013, she herniated two disks in her lumbar spine and had associated nerve pain down her left leg. This put her out for the two following seasons. Last year was her first season back and she said she could not be happier.
“I am still struggling with the injury but it is more manageable,” Evans said. She added she believes the injury was the result of a combination of overtraining and using some machines at the gym with bad form.
Looking into the future, Evans said she is happy with where she is as a varsity athlete. She plans to focus more on school but hopes to attend a post-graduate program where she can continue skiing.
The CCUNC will be held in Canmore, Alberta next year. Until then, Evans said she will keep training with her eyes on the gold.
