With their sports cancelled until 2021, MUN athletes aim to keep busy and their spirits up

Talented Twillingate runner Jade Roberts had high hopes for the upcoming Atlantic University Sportcross-country season.

The 23-year-old claimed individual gold at the AUS championships last fall, went to USports nationals with fellow MUN runner Levi Moulton and was named Atlantic University Sport's women's athlete of the year for cross-country running.

• 'Redemption season' has a golden ending for MUN Sea-Hawks runner

On Monday, the body that oversees university sports in Canada decided to cancel the fall season.

"Obviously I was deeply saddened by the news and it leftme with a heavy heart," Roberts said over the phone on Monday.

"Ultimately the decision obviously wasn't reached lightly and they're keeping our best interest in mind. They're looking out for our future."

The decision by USport and the AUSmeans that fall semester sports for MUN, that includes soccer and cross-country running won't take place in 2020.

Basketball, swimming and women's volleyball cross both semester and the hope is that those seasons won't be lost.

Memorial's director of varsity athletics, Karen Murphy, has been in constant contact with both sports bodies. She said while the news wasn't a shock it's still hard on student athletes.

"Of course they are very disappointed," she said.

"Most of these athletes have been training for years of their life to be able to play at this high-performance level."

Murphy competed as a varsity athlete for MUN before working as a coach and now oversees all sports.

She's never seen a season cancelled.

"These are certainly unprecedented times and this is something I think all of us here are trying to find a pathway through," said Murphy.

"There's nodirections that came with this one."

Roberts learned of the cancellationin an email from her coach Art Meaney. As the team's leader she broke the news to the other runners.

Despite losing what would have been a promising season, Robertssaid she has been encouraging her teammates to remain upbeat.

"I think that instead of taking it as a negative experience it's better to view it in a positive light use this as an opportunity to grow," she said.

"Train hard, try new things and come back more stronger, faster and ready to take on whatever competition will arrive in 2021."

Roberts is practising what she's preaching,running about 120 kilometres a week and working with local running star Colin Fewer.

Last year Roberts put up the fastest five-kilometre timeand the second-fastest 10-kilometre time in the province forthe women's 20-29 age group.

She finished 31stoverall in the 2019 Tely 10 with a time of 1:00:04 and works out at least six days a week.

"I've been really focused on training and trying out new workouts to see what works best for me," she said.

"We've been doing some race simulations that's kind of been keeping me on track. It is difficult and it's very different but I've adapted to the new norm."

Roberts, who works as a nurse in the pediatric intensive-care unit at the Janewayin St. John's, will also attend MUN's medical school in September.

While her medical career will keep the same pace, her running season will look a little different.

Roberts has been incontact with other running groups in the city and with Murphy at Memorial about possibly holding physically distanced running events.

"Not all hope is lost. There are things to look forward to," she said.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador