Sarah Prefers to Run 2013

Sarah Sophie Desmarais is a driven student-athlete who shines on her school’s track team and earns an invitation to train at McGill University. When she shares the plan with her mother, she learns that money is a major roadblock to making the move. To chase her dream, she confides in her co-worker Antoine Jean-Sébastien Courchesne, a restless presence who also wants a fresh start in Montreal. Together they decide to relocate, with Antoine covering the costs of the move and helping to secure a place to live. On the road toward a new chapter, Antoine proposes an unexpected shortcut: they could marry to access financing offered to young university couples. Sarah hesitates, but the idea earns a quiet appeal, and their decision takes them into a hurried, pragmatic union that keeps the doors open for their ambitions.

Once they arrive in Montreal, the reality of school life and the running program soon weighs heavily on Sarah. The financial strain is tangible as she balances tuition, housing, and the expectations of a demanding athletic schedule. During this period she forms a friendship with a fellow runner named Zoey Geneviève Boivin-Roussy, whose presence offers a glimmer of warmth and camaraderie amid the mounting pressure. At a lively student party, Zoey’s karaoke performance becomes a turning point: Sarah feels her heart race in a way she has never felt before, a moment that foreshadows the medical concern that will soon follow. The night ends with an urgent trip to the hospital, where the seriousness of her symptoms is brought to light by a cautious, procedural approach to care.

In the clinic, Sarah is introduced to a cardiologist Joseph Bellerose who evaluates her condition and recommends a monitoring plan. She is fitted with a device to continuously measure her heart rate and is asked to maintain a detailed journal of her daily activities. This new routine becomes a daily test of endurance, both physical and emotional, as the fear of potentially losing her ability to run sits alongside the stubborn resolve that has carried her this far. The narrative deepens as personal boundaries blur: during a quiet dinner at home, Antoine leans into the tension between them and they share a kiss. The moment shifts quickly as Sarah reveals that their kiss was a singular, impulsive lapse rather than the start of something enduring. Yet feelings that feel unsteady creep in as Antoine, feeling unsettled, confesses his love in a moment of vulnerability and then announces his intention to return to Quebec City, promising to continue paying for the apartment for a grace period while Sarah gets back on her feet.

Amid these upheavals, Sarah resolves to persevere in her sport even as the challenge grows more acute. Before a track meet, she stands in a bathroom, eyeing the heart-monitoring equipment that has become part of her routine. In a decisive, defiant moment, she removes the device and chooses to push forward with her training, deciding that she will continue to run despite the risks. The story lingers on her determination, capturing the tension between medical caution and the stubborn drive to chase a dream that is uniquely hers, with the real costs and choices that come with balancing health, ambition, and the unpredictable tides of love and independence.