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It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I must share with you the news of the sudden passing of my coach, Richard Boruta. Richard was involved in a rock climbing accident on August 9th while rappelling down Middle Sister (an iconic mountain here in Canmore) and was killed after falling a significant distance. The past week has been anything but easy on myself, my teammates, and the hundreds of athletes, coaches, families and friends that he influenced, but I am incredibly thankful that we have had the support of each other to help get through this tragic time.
I was asked to speak alongside a few of my teammates at the memorial service that was held for Richard yesterday afternoon and, quite honestly, this one of the toughest writing assignments that I have ever received. It wasn't tough because I couldn't think of anything to say, but rather I had no idea where to even begin my speech. Richard was a key component to my success in biathlon over the last 5 years and there is no doubt in my mind that he must be credited for shaping me into the athlete and balanced human being that I am today. In the last few years especially, Richard was the rock that kept me calm and optimistic while everything seemed to be flying off the rails. Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease I had to fight through well over a year and a half of constant disappointment. I wasn't responding well to training, I was constantly feeling tired, sluggish, and frankly, slow, and neither one of us had the slightest clue why. Yet, somehow, even when it seemed like all of the odds were against me, his faith in me never wavered. Despite being as in-the-dark about my sickness as I was, he constantly tried to convince me that we would figure it out and that things would get better in time. It was at this time that he also taught me the necessity of life balance as a full time athlete. While I was at the peak of my struggle I was completely convinced that I was feeling sluggish and slow because I wasn't working as hard as my fellow teammates.. So, I tried to push harder. Richard saw this in me and sat me down to talk about it. He reminded me that there is more to life than sport and told me that if I was planning to be a full time elite athlete for years to come, I had better find something outside of sport to keep my mind occupied outside of training. Of course, he didn't quite phrase it like that... Being the witty joker that he was, I believe his exact words were, "Emily, you need to get a boyfriend." :P And although I might not have succeeded on that front yet, his words did encourage me to seriously pursue my passion for photography, a move I am incredibly happy to have made.
After what has felt like years of underperforming behind me and (based on my current form) what I believe will be an awesome race season on the horizon, I was incredibly excited to share this next part of my journey with Richard. We had big plans for the next few years and I never imagined having to work towards those goals without him by my side.. However, life happens, and as he taught me so well, sometimes you need to adjust your sails. I know each and every one of his athletes will hold the valuable life lessons that he taught us close to our hearts as we carry on without him by our sides and (to quote my speech from yesterday) as we continue on, "he'll be the voice in our heads telling us to always take another step forward, even when we feel defeated, and he will be with us on every start-line reminding us that we are far more capable than we believe."
We miss you, Disco Rich.
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