Like most mothers and their daughters, there is a close bond between Taylor Janzen and her mother, Charlene.
“We have a really good relationship,” explained Taylor.
“I would call my mom my best friend, she is always there to provide me support and is someone I can talk to.”
The pair have been training together for the past year and a half, and along with father/husband Andrew Janzen, the trio ran the Vancouver Sun Run on April 27.
It was Taylor’s first time doing the famed run, while Charlene has done it about four times. And the pair started together, but with thousands of runners pounding the pavement, they became separated.
And this is where the mother/daughter bond turns from love and friendship to a little bit of competitive fire.
“That was kind of a bummer (that we got separated) because we are both pretty competitive,” admitted Taylor.
“And it was one of those things were I really wanted to beat her.
“That is just both of our competitive natures.”
Mom agrees.
“We run a lot together, although she is the one who has improved a lot and I am always scared she is going to beat me,” said Charlene with a laugh.
“But it will definitely happen.”
Taylor, who turns 18 this summer, was second in the female 16 to 18 division with a time of 42:45. There were 2,018 runners in her category.
Charlene, who is 41, was seventh in the female 40 to 44 division with a time of 41:30. This was out of 1,249 runners.
“She was going to try and keep up with me and I knew she would be close, but with that amount of people, you don’t know,” Charlene said.
The pair train about five times a week and — schedule-permitting — run together two or three times.
That included last Friday (May 2) a Pro-D day for Taylor, who decided to take advantage of a day off school to get up at 6 a.m. to go on a run with her mother.
Taylor is set to graduate from Langley Fundamental next month and plans to study nursing at Trinity Western University.
And with her daughter set to move out, Charlene has enjoyed the increased bond forged between the pair as they train together.
“We are pretty close, but it is a real privilege that she actually wants to run with me,” Charlene said,
“We have always been pretty close, but I definitely think running has brought us closer,” Taylor added.
“It has been a lot of fun running with her and being outside is always nice.”
Prior to taking up running, Taylor spent 10 years competing competitively with Langley’s Flip City Gymnastics. She then focused on volleyball, both at the high school level and the club level with Altruista Volleyball Club.
Both mother and daughter have competed locally with the Langley Train Run Series and with runs through Peninsula Runners and the New Year’s Resolution Run.
Taylor said she loves the adrenalin rush from competing at a race.
The pair will now switch their focus to training for the Lulu Lemon SeaWheeze half marathon at the end of August.
A half marathon is on Taylor’s bucket list, and she also said that one day she hopes to complete the Boston Marathon, something her mom did in 2012.
As they do every year on Mother’s Day, the Janzen family — which also includes 22-year-old Alex, a high level competitive rower — will go on a hike, or something outdoors.
