Meet Our Team

Mike grew up in North Vancouver as a middle distance and multi-event athlete, where he spent 6 years with Frank Reynolds as the head coach. It was in Frank’s training group where he developed a love for the sport, and all of the people that surrounded it. Frank created an atmosphere that taught not only sport but life lessons of dedication, perseverance, and hard work with the number one goal to just have fun. Mike has carried these values through his life and career.

After high school he continued to train and compete with the Thunderbirds Track & Field Club, while completing a 4 year joinery apprenticeship at BCIT. He later went on to get his red seal certificate, and gained 8 years of experience in custom millwork and cabinetry. He has now channeled his passions of woodworking and sustainability into LifeSpace Gardens, a North Vancouver company that specializes in self watering gardens and the initiative to help people grow their own food.

In 2012 Mike was brought into the Spirit Run as race director, where he has been reunited with old friends that all share the same vision that Frank had – to one day make the Spirit Run a world class event.

Barry retired as a high school teacher, counsellor, and coach after a long career with the Vancouver School Board. He has been a competitive runner for over 50 years and competed at all levels including representing Canada. He has experience as a director and volunteer at the club and provincial level working on runs and meets . Barry was a close friend of Frank Reynolds since high school and is dedicated to keeping Frank’s vision of coaching alive through the Vancouver Spirit Run. Barry is married and has one son.

Linda is qualified as an exercise specialist with the American College of Sports Medicine. She is an expert in the fitness leadership and cardiac rehabilitation fields, and aided in the implementation of the Cardiac Rehabilitiation Program at Lion’s Gate Hospital. Bakk is dedicated to promoting health and fitness in the community, and helping to realize the vision of her late partner Frank Reynolds – to bring an annual world class track event to Whistler, and later Vancouver, in order to promote amateur sport in Canada. Presently, Bakk also works as a certified exercise physiologist for the Healthy Heart Program.

Markus has extensive experience in the sporting goods industry. Markus has been involved in the organization of major sporting events as well as organizing tours to international events including marathons, Olympic games, track and field and cross-country championships. After moving back to Vancouver from Switzerland, he was responsible for the overall implementation of some of the Landmark Group Pacific events, which included the Vancouver Sun Run, the Vancouver Sun Jerome Track Classic, the Vancouver In-Line Skating Festival and the Vancouver Canucks Fan Appreciation Day Celebrations. Markus is now part-owner of Prime Travel/International Sports Tours Ltd., a travel agency & tour operating company in West Vancouver specializing in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide sports tours. He is a father of three children who are heavily involved in Track and Field and Cross Country Running.

Jessica joined the Norwesters Track & Field Club as a grade 10 student and was coached by Frank Reynolds throughout high school. This allowed her to recognize the potential she had in the sport and choose to continue athletics at university. After graduation, she accepted a scholarship to compete for Simon Fraser University where she had a successful collegiate career becoming a multiple NAIA National Champion, All-American, and school record holder. Jessica graduated from SFU in 2013 with a degree in Criminology.

Throughout her track and field career, Jessica has had the opportunity to represent Canada at a variety of international competitions as a junior and senior athlete 800m runner, including the 2012 Olympic Games, 2013 FISU Games, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2015 Pan American Games and 2017 Francophone Games. She continues her passion in the sport with the knowledge from Frank Reynolds to, “focus on the process, not the outcome” and enjoys sharing the love of sport with the community.

Rachel is an elite Canadian distance runner based out of Vancouver, BC. She has represented Canada on numerous senior teams including the IAAF World Championships (2017 & 2019), the Commonwealth Games (2018) and Pan Am Games (2019) – where she won a medal in the 10,000m, and is also the previous Canadian record holder in the Half Marathon and Marathon. Rachel has a real interest in health sciences and completed her B.Sc. in Biomedical Toxicology at the University of Guelph and a M.Sc. in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene before turning her attention to professional athletics. She first fell in love with distance running in high school and credits her success to the many positive mentors she had in her formative, as well as more recent, years.

Peter is an experienced entertainment, marketing, media, & technology executive with global experience and perspective. He has a long-term and excellent track record in promoting, developing, and growing world-class brands. Diemer has a unique combination of skills, depth of knowledge, relationships and a very clear understanding of the changing landscape and new business models.

He also has a degree in Television, Stage and Radio Arts, from S.A.I.T. (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) in Calgary, Alberta. Diemer has been actively involved with various music and arts organizations, including The Juno Awards, Business for The Arts – Vancouver and is also a past Board Member of the Norwesters Track and Field Club and the Chair of the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee for the Achilles Track and Field Society.