Whitehorse speed skater Alison Anderson set four records in the Masters International Short Track Games at the Olympic Oval in Calgary recently.

She broke records in the 1000, 500, 777 and 1500 in the Master Female 30-34 category on March 26-27.

Anderson was originally a speed skater from the ages of 11 to 17.

“I went to national competitions and even medaled at one ... long track ... I was more successful in the long track, but we don’t have long track here, so I like doing short track.”

Anderson inadvertently got back into speed skating.

“It was about three years ago – my daughter was only two or three, but I was wanting to start planning so I wanted to reach out and see ‘when can she start speed-skating?’ so I reached out to the club, and they told me they don’t have a Learn to Skate program. They kind of wait for little kids to skate a little bit and then take them on. But they were more interested in me ... it was right at the end of the season. I was kind of trying to avoid getting back into speed skating. It was kind of like a ‘missed dream’ and I just had mixed feelings about it ... they convinced me to go and I wanted to be friendly I guess, trying to get my kid into it, so I went ... and they gave me skates I could use and practices were winding down ... it was like easier practices which was good, because I was out of shape ... I probably only did two or three practices that season ... I just really liked it.

“They had their year-end competition and I was like ‘maybe I should be an official’ ... I was following a ref around and learning about how to be a ref but I found watching the kids skating I was like ‘I wish I was skating in this competition.’ I felt like it was too soon, because I’d only done two practices, but seeing them on the line, I was like ‘I want to be doing that.’

“So the following season ... I just went and did it on my own and I just loved it. And I was like ‘yeah, I’m not going to officiate, I’m going to be racing.’

“It was humbling when I first got on the ice. It was hard for me to even do one lap. I was right by the boards. Kinda had my hand on them. It was embarrassing. I couldn’t get low and was standing straight up. I checked out my skates and they looked like they were OK. So I was like ‘I guess I just got to get into it.’

“It started getting better and better over that season and eventually I was like ‘coach, can I ... try this one with the faster group’ and then started chasing the teenagers. It’s just been great. Really fun.”

Anderson had an emotional experience in Calgary.

“My goal was to set some records at, ideally, all four distances ... I just really kind of felt in the zone. Being an adult in the sport, now, I felt I had so much more mental strongness, I guess, to be able to deal with the stress and stay focused ... on my goals.

“My husband came with me. He was a huge support. We were able to leave our kid with the grandparents so it was nice to focus on me for the weekend. In the practices leading up to the competition I was really focused ... it was kind of clear that I was going to be one of the top contenders.

“I became overcome with emotion ... I was there as a teenager ... just to be there warming up in the same place ... I started tearing up. It just felt so wonderful to be back.”

Anderson said the races went “wonderful.” The first race was the 1000.

“We had six races on the first day, a heat, a semi, and a final for two distances. It was ... a lot of nerves for the first race. I didn’t want to tire myself out, because I knew I wanted to do this in every distance – get a record. So I went quite slow in the first race ... I went faster in the semifinal, but there was no good competition for me in that race, so I was really out on my own at the front and skating as fast as I can ... I went a little faster, but it wasn’t at a world record pace.

“And then the final there was a couple faster competitors that were motivating me and I took, I think, it was two seconds off of the record, so it was quite a lot faster then my semi and the record.

“I was really happy when I heard my name, over the announcement, when they announced the record ... it felt so awesome.”

Anderson related how if felt to set the records.

“That first one was the hardest one. I really had to work for that one and to just kind of feel like ‘yeah, I can really do this.’”

In the second distance, the 500, Anderson’s strategy changed.

“I was like ‘I’m just going to go as fast as I can in the heat and try to set it in the heat.’

“The place that you get on the line for the next race is related to how fast you went in the heat, so if you’re the fastest person in the heat, you get the inside lane in the semi and I wanted to make sure I had the inside lane so I wouldn’t get stuck behind somebody ... in such a short race, that would ruin my chance of getting a record,” she explained.

“I’m pretty sure I broke the record in the heat and then in the semifinal and then in the final again, I think. So I broke four world records that day, but three of them were in the same distance ... so that felt awesome. Really awesome.”

The second day brought two more world records for Anderson.

“I was feeling great on the second day. A little bit stiff, but ready to go. I had the same plan ... it was the 777, and I just went as hard as I could.”

Anderson finished first and set another world record.

Next up was the 1500 metres.

“That’s the long one,” said Anderson.

“Definitely not my strong point and only one opportunity, because it went straight to a final. They don’t want to torture us by making us do it two times. It’s pretty painful. It doesn’t sound that long ... but you’re basically doing a squat for the whole way. It’s pretty exhausting.

“When you’re skating for medals, the way you would skate that race, is you would go out of the gate slow. Off the start, you would be very slow, and it would be more like jostling for positions, and that wouldn’t work for me. I was like, ‘no, if people are doing that in the race, I’m not going to get a record. We gotta go, like, fast’ ... so my plan was if no one goes off the start, I’m going to go hard and just like, try not to die, but ideally, someone else is going to go hard and I can follow them, and so that’s what happened. One of the other strong competitors went hard off the start and we kept up a good pace the whole race ... I was even two seconds faster than my best time as a teenager so that was pretty fast. I was pretty pleased with that,” she recalled.

The next Masters International Short Track Games should be in Amsterdam, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

“I’m hoping I will go, wherever it is. I’d like to defend the records in this age category,” stated Anderson.

“In two years, the Masters Games, multi-sport event, is going to be in Italy, so I’m really excited to go to there, and that’ll be in the new age category.”

“I just love to race and compete. I love being on the line. Love it.”

Anderson added how “wonderful” speed skating is.

“The club here and the association is super-welcoming. It’s a really fun sport and great exercise ... you don’t have to be competitive but you can be. Next year’s an Arctic Winter Games and Canada Winter Games year, so we’ll be looking for people for our teams ... youth to go to Arctics and Canada Winter Games, so it’d be a great time for someone who knows how to skate to come and turn that into speed skating and go to some cool events,” she said.

“And little kids, as long as you can get up when you fall, you can come out and skate and adults, too. It’s super-fun.”