Athletics Canada announced today that Marie-Ève Dugas of Laval, Que., will compete 
in the 60-metre hurdles at the 2014 AC Indoor Open. Marie-Ève is a former CIS champion and has represented Canada at both the Francophone and FISU Games. Trying to balance a busy training schedule and work life can be difficult. While hinting at a possible retirement, she’s content to take her track and field career one year at a time.
AC: With your hometown and club, Corsaire Chaparal, located right across the St. Lawrence River in Laval, what are you most looking forward to about competing at the AC Indoor Open?
MD: I am super excited about the AC Indoor Open! I’ve always enjoyed running the 60-metre hurdles; this is a great opportunity for me to race with the best athletes in Canada in that event. I am really looking forward to share this experience with my friends and family!
AC: What are your goals and aspirations for 2014?
MD: For 2014, my goal is to run a personal best in both the 60m/100m hurdles! (8.35 / 13.50)
AC: When you decide to end your competitive career, what aspects of the sport will you miss most?
MD: There are so many aspects I love about track and field! The rush of adrenaline you get on the starting line just before a big race, the desire to always surpass yourself, the feeling you get after running a personal best, the track and field family and the friendships made over the years, traveling to amazing places I would have never been to if it wasn’t for track, but most of all, the feeling of representing Team Canada at an international event!
AC: Speaking of international events, you were elected as flag bearer for last summer’s Francophone Games, what did that mean to you?
MD: It meant so much! It was a huge honour and I am so incredibly proud and thankful for it. Representing Canada has always been such an honour in itself, being the flag bearer for an international event is just WOW… I still have no words to describe that feeling! It’s something I will always remember!
AC: Athletics takes a lot of hard work and dedication. When you’re away from the track, how do you spend your time?
MD: I am currently working as the Coordinator of Communication and Marketing at Alliance Sport-Études which offers adapted educational services to high-performance Quebec athletes who are pursuing post-secondary studies. Sport for me is a real passion and I want to help other athletes to make their goals and dreams come true.
AC: Are there some people you’d like to thank or dedicate your race to?
MD: There are so many people I would like to thank but obviously my family has to come first as they were always there supporting me through all these years! My coaches, Carole Crevier, Richard Crevier and most recently Michel Portmann, my physio François Auray and Excellence Sportive Sherbrooke who has been an incredible support for me.
The 2014 AC Indoor Open will take place in Montreal, Que., March 14 – 16 at the newly renovated Centre Claude-Robillard. The event serves as a Canadian Championship for youth and junior athletes and will feature a number of Olympians and World Championship national team members in invitational events. For more information and to register for the inaugural AC Indoor Open visit www.indoors.athletics.ca.
