‘It’s just so refreshing and fills my cup’

University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate Caitlin Schindel (BSN’12) could teach a master class in discipline, perseverance, and time management.

The 36-year-old wife and mother of three young children—ages 8, 6, and 4—stays busy raising her family while also working as a registered nurse in the emergency department at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital. In her free time, she trains as an elite runner who takes part in competitions around the world, including at the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) marathon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she won in the women’s 50-kilometre category in 2023. Schindel finished the race with an outstanding time of 5:40:11—more than 33 minutes faster than her closest competitor in the female 50km division.

“It’s my stress reliever and my time to think,” she said of running.

Schindel, who was born in Saskatoon, graduated from RJC High School in Rosthern, Sask., before starting her post-secondary studies at USask’s College of Arts and Science in 2007. In 2008, she enrolled as a student in USask’s College of Nursing, later earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2012.

“I’d always been interested in health care,” said Schindel, who grew up seeing her mother and her grandmother work as nurses. She later realized that nursing would be the right career for her, too.

“I love it. There are so many opportunities.”

Just as nursing is in her blood, running has always been a natural fit for Schindel, who took up the sport as a child and hasn’t stopped running since.

“My parents somehow noticed that I could keep running and running, even when I was six or seven, and they put me in children’s triathlons,” said Schindel, who also played soccer throughout her youth and spent Grades 11 and 12 running cross-country and track at RJC.

“I ended up getting one of the top places in provincials in my Grade 12 year,” she recalled. “So, then the Huskies coach at the time was at those races and he recruited me then.”

Schindel said joining the USask Huskies as a cross-country and track athlete “turned out to be a great decision.” She thrived as a student-athlete; while working toward her nursing degree she also became a four-time Canada West All-Star who won the 2010 Canada West cross-country women’s championship title.

“It was amazing,” she said of her time as a student-athlete. “It was a great community, and I still have so many life-long friends from it. I just progressed as an athlete so much, too.”

After graduating from USask, Schindel ran an impressive 2:45:58 at the Chicago Marathon in 2014 before taking an eight-year break from competitions to focus on starting a family. After Schindel gave birth to her third child in 2021, she felt the time was right to get back into the competitive racing scene. She chose the 2022 Beaver Flat 50—a challenging and hilly trail run in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park—as her first foray back into competitions. It marked both her first trail race and her first competitive race as a mother.

“It’s the biggest trail race in Saskatchewan, and I’d just heard stories about how awesome it was,” she said. “I’d always wanted to try trail races because I love going out in nature and I’ve always loved trails. It’s just always a new adventure and you see new things.”

Schindel won the 2022 Beaver Flat 50 in a new course record. She followed up that impressive win in 2023 with a third-place finish at the Squamish 50 in British Columbia, followed by wins at the Queen City Marathon and Puerto Vallarta by UTMB 50k race.

“That spurred on my love for trail running,” she said. “I feel like trail running’s my main love now, but I haven’t shut the door on road racing, either.”

Schindel’s most recent race was at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in September 2025—an event she described as “the Olympics of trail running.” As a member of Team Canada, Schindel competed against runners from about 70 other countries in Canfranc-Pirineos, Spain.

“It was such a cool experience,” she said, noting it was an extremely challenging course due to the 5,500 metres of elevation gain.

Despite heading into to the daunting 82-kilometre race with a recently sprained ankle, Schindel finished as the 74th female and 210th overall. She was pleased with the outcome, particularly since just two days before her flight to Spain she remained unsure whether she could compete.

“It was a miracle,” Schindel said of crossing the finish line, adding that her ankle is still “pretty weak.”

“I was just so grateful that I was even there and doing it. When I crossed the finish line, it was a crazy good victory for me.”

Schindel was the only Saskatchewan representative on Team Canada, which included herself and five other women. Despite her injury, Schindel placed fourth among the six Canadian women.

“I was very happy with how it turned out,” she said.

While there are many things that can be unpredictable about trail racing, such as the weather, Schindel is unphased as a competitor. When it’s hot outside she will dump water on her head or drink extra water to stay hydrated, but beyond that she doesn’t make specific racing plans or employ specific coping strategies.

“Ignorance is bliss. I’m not going to obsess over the weather or obsess over the trail map. I’m like, ‘You know what? It will be what it will be. When I see it, I will run up it.’ I’m not going to review every nook and cranny of this trail ahead of time. Let’s just go.”

Schindel receives ongoing support from her family, friends, and her husband, fellow USask nursing graduate Chris Schindel (BSN’13), who was also a member of the Huskie cross-country team while studying at USask.

“One of the main reasons I love running is because of the community of people that I get to run with as well,” said Caitlin Schindel.

She finds it easy to stay motivated to train for big events, even when the winter weather dips down to -40 C in Saskatchewan. A self-described “very high-energy person,” Schindel believes running brings her focus and helps her to be the best parent, wife, and nurse that she can be.

“I love running,” she said. “Even a daily random run, it’s just my daily me time. It’s just so refreshing and fills my cup.”