Emily McIlroy is a Fourth Year Global and Development Studies major currently from Camrose, Alberta. She studying global and development studies with no precise future plans, but she is sure they will be most wonderful. She is spending my last semester in Norway to ski and finish off her degree. She would love to say she has career goals but she does not like to limit herself with plans. She hopes to do some travelling, work with an NGO and do some writing. She would most like to meet her great grandparents to hear their stories.

As an athlete, her biggest influence is fiancé and fellow runner Matt Martin. As she says, “Matt's running -- I guess I should run, Matt's not running  -- must be a rest day.”

She is also influenced by the wonderful Gerhard Lotz who keeps her motivated and smiling.

She has been competitively running since grade 3 and says “I haven't missed a season yet. That makes...A lot.” She spent the summer working for the trail Runner Magazine in Colorado so hopefully after her altitude training she will be ready to go for the fall. In the winter her goals are to shred as much pow in Norway as humanly possible. Emily was born in Australia, and lived in England for 8 years. She loves gutting fish and once memorized 142 digits of pi.

Her most memorable sports moment was the first year she skied the Birkebeiner. “It was a beautiful winter day and I skied like the wind.”

When not in class, Emily is usually in the kitchen cooking and baking or sipping coffee at Fiona's. Her favourite sports team is the Augustana Vikings and favourite athlete is Matt Martin. She loves to listen to Red Moon Road, watch Forrest Gump or True North Calling, eat Katelynn’s scones, and read Wild or any book by Dave Olesen.