This ultra-marathoner runs to combat cannabis-related stereotypes

For most of us, there's no link between athletics and cannabis use. And cannabis is often associated with laziness.

Avery Collins is attempting to combat this cliché and prove that it is possible to remain productive in athletics while consuming cannabis. More generally, Avery is becoming a fierce supporter and a showcase for changing the mindset associated with cannabis in sport.

«What works for me won't necessarily work for everyone,» says Collins. «But I think most people will be able to find pleasure in consuming cannabis while remaining athletic.».

Collins is an ultra-marathoner who runs, walks or climbs anywhere from 80 to 160 kilometers. Running these very long distances isn't easy, and it took Collins 3 years to go from normal jogger to ultra-marathoner. He only started running because his gym membership had expired and he wanted to stay in shape.

«It's hard to believe now, but three and a half years ago, I had to sit down for 10 minutes after running 2km because I was out of breath and tired.»

Collins didn't even like running, it was just something he forced himself to do, week after week.

«I didn't enjoy running for the first two, three months. Then it became an addiction and I had to go running to feel like I was having a good day. It became a real passion after 6 months. That's why I tell people who start running that they have to get over their initial reluctance.

From there, Collins ran his first half-marathons. After 9 months, his first marathon, the Blue Ridge Marathon in Virginia, one of the toughest marathons in the U.S., with over 2km of positive elevation gain over 42km.

After a year of running, Collins made his first attempt at use cannabis before running.

«I had moved to Indiana and was living with a buddy in his apartment. At the time, I was training hard for an ultramarathon, it was all I did. We were on the couch one night, and he asked me if I'd ever thought about smoking before running».

It had never crossed his mind, but he was intrigued by the idea and decided to give it a try.

«I smoked quite a bit... and went to one of my favorite parks to run, with a 16 km loop. I just remember it being super, super nice. Everything was just spiritually awake and I had better sensations of the ground, the roots and everything around me. It made it a much more spiritual race.

Now Collins is a full-fledged ultra-marathoner. Not only that, but he's still using space food or cannabis products. Over the past two years, he has taken part in 5 races in the country (4 of 100km and 1 of 200km), and won 10 other races.

With his success in the ultra marathon world and his use of cannabis-related products, Collins wants to change the associated clichés and sees himself as a testament to his benefits. In fact, he has created a page on GoFundMe to raise funds and continue spreading the word.

«It's a way for me to continue to inspire through an athleticism that also involves cannabis. For this to work well and for me to change these clichés and get rid of the negative connotation, I have to be an athlete first, then a cannabis consumer. If I ended up at the bottom of the rankings, I couldn't be a cannabis advocate, people might say it doesn't work so well. But if you have someone who's successful all over the world in races from 80 to 320km, I think that brings more validity. People are going to think «wow, this could work»».

Collins wants to travel the country, run more races, visit dispensaries to show what you can do while using cannabis regularly and being a successful athlete in a physically demanding sport.

He gives some advice for those who are interested: «One of the first pieces of advice I give to people, especially those who eat cannabis-infused culinary preparations, is that you need to find the line between the dose you can tolerate and the dose that exceeds your limits before you go into the gym, because there's a very thin line between the two. Take your space food 10 to 15 minutes before leaving home is a good thing for the effect to be felt while you're running, not before you run. That way, if you tend to be lazy when you're using cannabis, you're already doing something, and it can help you enormously.».

Collins is notably sponsored by Roll-Uh-Bowl (a portable bong brand) and Marys Medicinals, a store selling products made from cannabis (creams, edible tablets, patches, etc.).