Physical literacy does not always happen in a gym. Sometimes it starts at 5:00 in the morning. The alarm rings. You are tired. It is still dark outside. You get dressed, pack your bag, and make your way to the bus. Then you travel for hours to a small Northern community to run on a trail filled with mud, roots, changing terrain and, yes, bison poop. That was part of the experience at the 2026 NWT Cross Country Run in Fort Providence.
More than 200 students from three regions of the Northwest Territories made the journey. Some travelled a long way. Some were experienced runners. Others may have been participating in cross country for the first time.
Every one of them showed up. That matters.
Showing Up Is an Achievement. We often focus on the finish line. We recognize the fastest runners, hand out medals, and celebrate the winning schools. Those achievements are important, and the students who earned them deserve to be proud. Physical Literacy invites us to look at the complete experience.
It begins with having the motivation and confidence to participate. It grows as we learn how our bodies move, develop new skills, and discover that we can be active in many different environments. For some students, success was earning a medal. For others, success was waking up at 5:00 a.m. and making the bus. Success was standing at the starting line even though they felt nervous. Success was finding a pace, climbing a hill, moving through the mud, and continuing when their legs became tired. Success was encouraging a teammate or waiting near the finish line to cheer for someone else. Success was finishing.
Running outside is different from running in a gym or around a track. The land asks us to adapt. The ground is not always level. The trail may be wet, narrow, slippery, or covered with roots. Runners must look ahead, adjust their steps, find their balance, and make decisions while they move. These are physical skills, but they are also life skills.
Students learn to respond when something unexpected appears in front of them. Sometimes that is a muddy section of trail. Sometimes it is a steep hill. And sometimes it is a very large pile of bison poop. You can stop, complain, or carefully find another way around it. That might be one of the most Northern examples of Physical Literacy we can offer.
Physical literacy is not about moving perfectly. It is about feeling confident enough to keep moving, solve problems, and take part in different activities and environments.
Hosting an event of this size in a smaller community is not easy. It takes local knowledge, volunteers, planning, facilities, food, transportation, course preparation, and a community willing to welcome hundreds of visitors. Fort Providence stepped forward and made it happen. That is also part of Physical Literacy. Young people need opportunities and places where they feel welcome to participate. Those opportunities should not exist only in our largest centres.
When we bring events to smaller communities, students experience new trails, meet new people, and learn more about the communities that make up our territory. Local youth also get to participate closer to home and see their community recognized as a place capable of hosting an important territorial event. Physical Literacy belongs everywhere. It belongs in gyms, classrooms, arenas, and swimming pools. It also belongs on the land, on community trails, and in places where the bus ride may begin before sunrise.
Not everyone went home with a medal from Fort Providence, but every student went home with an experience. They learned something about the trail, about their bodies, about their teammates, and perhaps about themselves. Giving your best does not mean being the fastest. Your best can look different from one day to the next. It means showing up and offering what you have at that moment.
Sometimes your best earns a medal. Sometimes your best simply gets you across the finish line. Both deserve to be celebrated.
The next time someone asks what Physical Literacy looks like in the North, tell them it looks like more than 200 students waking up early, travelling to Fort Providence, running through sunshine and fall colours, getting covered in mud, and continuing toward the finish line. That is one part of Physical Literacy in the North. Showing up, finding your way, and moving forward together.