November 8, 2004 – When I was a junior racer training out of my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, every day would begin with a short phone call which consisted of four simple words: “meet you half way.” On the other end of the line was my best friend, teammate, training partner, co-conspirator and partner in crime; the one, the only, the man, the myth the legend, the great Brady Travis Dunne. Brady and I lived about 12 kilometers away from each other (I know, I know, its hard to believe that two people living in “The Soo” can live that far away) and would meet every day to train. For about 5 years that “half way” was the only time that I ever trained alone. In fact Brady and I were seen together so often that people began to get the two of us confused. For those of you who have ever had a look at us there are absolutely no two people who look less alike than Brady and me. (Brady continually claims to be much better looking, although I somewhat disagree;) My own Exel Racing teammate Rhonda Sandau once remarked to me: “I always knew that you two were Adam and Brady… I just didn’t know which one was which.” At a 1998 National Championships, Brady even received a split that he was winning the race, and that he was “3 seconds up on Dunne!”

I attribute much of my success in the junior ranks to being able to work so often with such a great training partner. In long workouts we shared the lead and the fuel if necessary (not to mention having each others backs when angry motorists took out their frustrations on us). In intensity sessions, we waged a fierce but supportive battle every time we strapped on our skis. Neither of us could afford to let up, even an inch, if we had any chance to get to the end first. In mass start races, we often worked together, against everyone else, and left the first and second place podium spots to a sprint finish. I think I won exactly 50% of the time. In individual start races, when things got tough, each of us drew from the vast reserve of mental strength built up from hammering on each other in practice after practice. I cannot recall how many times Brady and I finished first and second in a race or how many times the difference between our finishing times was less than five seconds. Both of us hated to lose ski races, however losing was at least somewhat bearable if it was to each other.

Brady and I were competitive against one another on various other playing fields aside from the ski trails. Our first face to face encounter was an epic battle on the soccer pitch in eighth grade when East View Public School took on Tarentorous. Our competitive days continued when those same two elementary schools squared off that winter on the basketball court in the city playoffs. In High School, whether it was on the cross country running trails in the fall, the track in the spring or the boardroom as Student’s Council Presidents of our respective High Schools, the Dunne/Kates bond/rivalry always remained strong. On one occasion, at the High School Northern Ontario Track and Field Championships, Brady and I, running for different schools, were competing in the 3000 meter event when a runner from a different team gave me a vicious elbow to the back of the head. Brady immediately bridged the gap, came up behind the runner and whispered in the guy’s ear: “you do that again and you deal with me!” Needless to say I never had to worry about that puppet again. Rumor had it that he was seen shortly after the race limping around the stadium with spike marks on the back of his calf… but neither Brady nor I know anything about that. Sporting plastic Viking helmets we led the Ontario Team into the Opening Ceremonies of the 1999 Canada Winter Games and upon meeting then Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien, Brady slapped him an aggressive high five and emphatically shouted “Hey Jean! What’s up buddy!?.” We were also well known for tearing up many a Nationals Banquet with our choreographed breakdancing routines and for sneaking into every hotel room at the 1997 National Championships and giving the entire Ontario Ski Team a 3:00am wakeup call. On another occasion, Brady had the great idea to sneak a small water pistol into a bar. When he “accidentally” squirted the wrong guy, I was there to diffuse the situation with a firm hand while Brady slipped out the back door. We were also notorious for one upping each other on snowboards, mountain bikes, hucking 60 ft cliffs into water, alpine skis and whatever other extreme sports activities we could find. Perhaps one of our finest moments as a team came when we snuck into a $25,000 a ticket function in order to get our picture with 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Not too bad for a couple of punks from Northern Ontario. Now, before I make this sound too much like some kind of romance, let me also clarify that Brady, drawing on his rather extensive experience, also gave me considerable advice on the ladies.


In 1999, Brady and I were both named to the Canadian Junior National Team. We were also accepted to Lakehead University and the National Team Development Centre (both in Thunder Bay). Along with then teammate Eric Potter, Brady and I moved into an off campus basement apartment. That year, we continued to train together and were both fortunate to qualify for the World Junior Championships. We would also each take home a gold medal in what were to be the final two races of our junior career (Brady won one and I won the other). I think that in those last two races we were equally as happy to watch each other cross the line first as we were to accomplish the feat ourselves.

It is said that all good things must come to an end. Sadly, after our first year of University, Brady chose to devote himself to excelling in Lakehead’s challenging business program while I optioned to keep pushing towards a degree whilst continuing to pursue my athletic goals. In those five years since Brady has stopped skiing competitively, I have had the good fortune of being on National Teams and Training Centers and have raced and trained in the company of some of the fastest male skiers that Canada has ever produced. There have been some great sessions, some amazing camps and some extremely positive experiences. However, none of these ever came close to being as productive a partnership as the one that Brady and I had during our time racing and training in Sault Ste. Marie.

This year, as a member of the Exel Racing Team I have been training primarily in Sault Ste. Marie and have been doing the majority of my workouts alone. There have been many long and lonely workouts throughout much of this training year. Recently however I have had some welcome company. Brady has dusted of his rollerskis, laced up his vintage running shoes and has been a welcome training partner, providing both company and added motivation to get out the door and get the job done. For me, fall is the most difficult time of year to get motivated to train. Pole tips slip more than they stick while rollerskiing, hands get cold and numb when running and the summer wardrobe of shorts and no shirt is necessarily replaced by tights and long sleeves (for those of you who know me well, you know that wearing a shirt while training is not typically my favourite thing). Brady has been on a serious job hunt as of late and since landing a position that begins in mid-November the familiar figure that I used to see rollerskiing or running towards me every morning when I was a junior racer is once again making regular appearances on the roads and trails of Sault Ste. Marie. He was up for a 3.5 hour skate rollerski on Monday. He was worthy competition for a session of 5*3 minute ski bounding intervals on Wednesday. He easily hung in for 7 hours of a 10 hour training weekend and on today’s 5*5 minute uphill rollerski intervals he showed, after almost 5 years away from any serious training, the natural talent that he possesses. As a fulltime working man living out of Sault Ste. Marie and as a part time coach of the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club I am sure that by the time March rolls around, Brady will be in amazing shape. The only question is, will I be able to convince him to ski on our club relay team at the National Championships in Thunder Bay? I guess only time will tell, but I have a feeling that if he decides to participate that he will definitely turn some heads.

I could go on forever about the times that Brady and I have had together, about the races that we have raced, about the close finishes and especially about the mischief we have gotten into together, but it’s late and I have to get to bed. I have to wake up early tomorrow. I’m meeting Brady half way.