FEBRUARY 2010 • PERSPECTIVES

As improbable as it sounds, it was the SARS crisis that started Karen Michelsen on the path to an Olympic run.

When the deadly disease hit Ontario in 2003, Michelsen was working in the medical-surgical intensive care unit at St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto. During the second wave, she was part of the team that cared for the most critically ill patients. Later, as she struggled to make sense of what she was feeling in the aftermath of SARS, Michelsen decided it was time to make a change: “I felt I had accomplished a lot in nursing and needed to focus spending more time enjoying life.” She had already worked in a variety of clinical settings, been an educator, done labour management, published nursing articles, organized workshops and conferences, and won nursing research awards in Canada and the United States.

The best way Michelsen knew of to celebrate being alive was to embrace athletics. She was already well on her way — she had started training for a marathon. But by the time she filled out an application to volunteer to carry the Olympic torch, she had a stunning fitness resumé: first Canadian woman to run a marathon on every continent; first woman to be awarded the title of Queen Rapa Nui (for best overall female results in Easter Island’s marathon, bike race and sprint triathlon); only woman to complete the 2007 North Pole Bike Extreme race (42 kilometres long). She is also a member of the North Toronto Ski Club, has earned an advanced brown belt at Northern Karate Schools and has volunteered to help athletes with disabilities.

When Michelsen applied to be an on-site volunteer at the Games (turns out she’ll be helping direct people to the alpine ski venue), the committee suggested she apply to carry the torch as well. She didn’t have to think twice.

When people at work found out, they quickly got together to organize how they could help with photographing the relay and alerting the media. Michelsen’s leg of the relay passed through Cobourg, Ont., just after 5 p.m. on Dec. 15. “I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up,” she says, estimating that at least 100 people were there to support her. She gave out mini torches to the crowd, while trying to take in the signs children had made to cheer her on and the banners from her supporters, including the Ontario Nurses’ Association. “The Olympic flame inspires torchbearers and spectators alike to spread the Olympic spirit.”

The experience did not end there. Michelsen talked about her run and that spirit in presentations at work and in her community. She always brought the torch with her and described how it was made (“You wouldn’t believe the thought that went into the design!” she raves). She believes that by following Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living, Canadians can support the spirit of the 2010 Games. “The torch has given me an opportunity to provide health teaching in the community at the primary level — something I don’t often get to do, working in intensive care.”

Among the other nurses selected as torchbearers…