Ever since she started swimming in the open ocean, Kendal Crawford has never stopped feeling like she’s in outer space. “It’s like you’re flying over a different planet,” Kendal says of swimming above all the life that’s below the surface of the water. “It’s so alien and serene.” While she’d accomplished many goals in the ocean, like swimming distances of more than 35 kilometres, Kendal was striving to find love on land—and posted pictures of herself in the water on her online dating profile. “He sent me the first message,” Kendal says, smiling. “It was to ask about my swimming.” ‘He’ was Shaun Stephens-Whale, who’s profile included pictures of running through challenging obstacle courses. “You feel more alive when you’re running hard and you’re pushing your body,” Shaun smiles. Turns out Shaun is a top tower runner, who’s raced up the stairs of the world’s tallest buildings from New York to Dubai and holds the record for running up the CN Tower’s 140 stories in less than 10 minutes. “Which looked crazy,” Kendal says. “And I wanted to know what this guy was all about.” Their first couple of dates went so well, Kendal accompanied Shaun to one of his international races. During the road trip back, they discovered just how compatible they were. “We would pause somewhere along the coast, where he would have a trail he wanted to try and I would go down to the beach and be bobbing out there in the giant California waves,” Kendal recalls. “And then we’d meet up an hour later and be like, ‘How was your thing?!’” Now, they’ve started doing mountain running and tower running together. In the five years since they first met, Shaun and Kendal are realizing their relationship goals by taking turns supporting each other in their individual athletic goals. “Having an understanding of the sacrifices that are involved in reaching a high level is huge,” Shaun says. Sharing common values is important too. When Kendal’s not embarking on long-distance swims to raise tens of thousands of dollars for community groups, Shaun is running in support of charities and staging obstacles courses at community events. “If you can devote yourself to something and find purpose in that,” Shaun says. “You’re going to find success and a lot of love.”
