REGULA Lauren

General
VETERAN OLYMPIAN
She competed at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. After the 2008 Games where Canada came fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Australia, she did not play softball for eight years. She returned to softball when she was asked to pitch at the 2016 World Championships in Surrey, BC, Canada, and she said it took her two years to feel completely comfortable playing again. "We lost to Australia [in 2008] and it was completely heart-shattering. It was everything I'd worked for. I knew it was my last Olympics. I was throwing, so I felt responsible, and it ended. I was very bitter and not exactly the way I had pictured myself going out in the sport. It took me a little bit to get back into it [after returning in 2016] but I think that was actually something that was really helpful for me. I actually didn't start feeling better and like myself until a couple years later. A huge part of me wanting to come back is unfinished business. These girls are a huge part of it too. So many of them started with the team in 2009 and beyond, and I will be the first to say how amazingly impressive what coach Smith has been able to do with the programme without having an Olympics to drive it." (news5cleveland.com, 23 Jan 2020; Instagram profile, 12 May 2021; okstate.com, 01 Mar 2021; theprovince.com, 13 Apr 2021)

MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES
After having three children in three years, she said she developed postpartum depression in 2012 and struggled with it for six years. "You think you're the only one going through it. Because I was so worried about the stigma of not feeling well and having this, I didn't really reach out for help. I just tried to keep it to myself. And so, luckily, my husband's amazing and he helped me get help. I started to share and I did it more so to just rid myself of that heaviness and I was really afraid. Just hearing how my message had resonated to mums and to feeling on an island has really sparked me into wanting to speak. " (news5cleveland.com, 23 Jan 2020; globalnews.ca, 27 May 2021)

OCCUPATION
She owns TrAk Athletics, a gym based in Fairlawn, OH, United States of America, with her husband Dave. The gym has been running since 2015. She also is the owner and founder of The Strong Mom Method, a health and fitness website helping mothers navigate motherhood alongside fitness. "It's awesome. I love it. It's a community that's helped me grow in more ways than I can explain. Without that decision [moving from Chicago to Ohio to open TrAk Athletics] being made seven years ago, I definitely would not be here because the fact that we do own our own business, although it is a lot of load, I have the ability to make my own schedule. Mums often don't give themselves the same consideration as they do everyone else in the family. One of the goals of Strong Mom is to remind mums that our families will be better when we prioritise our well-being." (LinkedIn profile, 08 May 2021; news5cleveland.com, 23 Jan 2020; Facebook profile, 28 May 2021; okstate.com, 01 Mar 2021; scriptype.com, 28 May 2021)