I sat down with Quinton Gill, a fourth-year Human Kinetics student at uOttawa, a personal trainer, and an Elite Spartan racer. Spartan racing is a series of obstacle courses, which vary in time and distance. He is a highly involved member of many things on Campus, and still manages to push his body to the limits and compete with the top athletes in the world, so we chatted about what’s next, how he does it, and training regime.
Her Campus: What are your career goals?
Quinton Gill: I want to own my own Fitness Centre one day. In most sports, it’s very competitive; people always want to win. Spartan/Obstacle Competitive Racing (OCR) is an up and coming sport, and everyone is there for each other with support and congratulations. That’s the kind of mentality I want to bring into my own fitness centre one day.
HC: What kind of training do you have to do?
QG: A lot of it is just putting in the miles. I try to get out for a run at least twice a day.
HC: How many kilometres do you do in a week?
QG: Anywhere from 20-60 kilometres, depending on the week.
HC: How long have you been doing this sort of training?
QG: I started back in January. I ran my first Spartan Race last year. I fell in love. Then I ended up breaking both my heels falling off a roof. So I couldn’t start running again until January and it took me a while to get back into the rhythm of it. I slowly went into it, once a week, then twice a week, and so on.
HC: Do you have a special diet or is it more about athletic training?
QG: When you run that much it doesn’t matter what you eat. I eat healthy, but treats don’t affect me.
HC: How many calories would you estimate you burn in a day?
QG: I know I intake close to 5,000-6,000 calories a day. On an average day of training, I’m probably burning close to 3,000.
HC: What is your ultimate athletic goal?
QG: I want to be one of the best OCR runners in the country by the time I’m 24.
HC: What’s a typical day in the life of Quinton Gill?
QG: I need my 8 hours of sleep, but I only end up getting 6 or 7. Most days I train my clients, run or do my boot camp. Rock climbing is also something I do to keep myself strong. I like to do things that are hard, but don’t feel like it.
Check out Quinton’s previous race places here.