We caught up with Rachel Hannah, six-time Canadian champion distance runner and last year’s Canadian Marathon Champion, at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. She’s gearing up for marathon season, which kicked off with the highly anticipated Toronto Marathon on May 3 and now the upcoming Ottawa 10K, May 23–24. She shared the details of finding chemistry on and off the track with her husband, runner and endurance coach behind Chappell Racing, Joe Chappell.
How they met
Joe and I met through the running community. I lived in Guelph before, and he would volunteer a lot with the running club there, doing volunteer races and things like that. I ran with New Balance for a while, and they used to support the team there, so I think it was at one of those events that he saw me.
The first date
Joe grew up in Saugeen Shores, and he’s based in Port Elgin, so I came up for a weekend in the summer. We did a tandem bike ride at sunset!
The relationship
I was actually injured when we first started dating, so I wasn’t able to run. So we were doing some cycling together, and I swam here in the lake, too, so that was nice. When I made my return to running, he was involved in that, and we’ve been able to travel to a lot of big races together — a couple of world majors, Boston, New York, Chicago. And of course, one of our most memorable moments as a couple was Joe being at the finish line at the TCS Toronto Marathon when I won the championship last year.
The proposal
I raced the Glass City Marathon, which is within driving distance, so we drove down with friends and both raced it. I won the race, and I got the course record, and that was awesome. It was my first official marathon win, and then we drove back home, and he proposed at our home in Saugeen Shores, just because it was such a happy day. I think he was waiting for a race like that. He wanted to do it on a day where I was very happy, and you can’t really top that, finishing a marathon and feeling really good! I remember that night he went for a run while I was calling some family and friends to share the news. We run a lot even just to celebrate and reflect on things.
The wedding
Our actual ceremony was at Joe’s parents’ house. It’s a really nice lot with lots of space, and it’s a road that we use on our long run training route. It was just a small ceremony with family present, but we had to change the location from the forest on their land because it was raining all day and the ground was all flooded! We had a reception about a block away from the shores of Lake Huron, along our running route in a town called Southampton.
The secret to success
You have to support each other; otherwise, it’s hard to accomplish things. And good communication is key!
Balancing careers and a relationship
I think we share the same mindset and are driven by the same goals. I train a lot as an athlete, 15, 16, hours a week, plus working full time doesn’t leave a ton of free time, and not everyone understands that, but he does, especially as a coach himself.
The future together
It will probably look similar to right now but maybe a bit slower. We’ll still be moving and exercising together but maybe not with the same competition lens.
