The St. John's nurse logged a 60-hour shift before running 24km to bring groceries to a neighbour in need
By: Dwayne Tingley
Jade Roberts is an AUS Cross Country gold medalist, but the run of her life had nothing to do with medals and titles.
It had everything to do with fortitude and selflessness.
The 23-year-old pediatrics nurse just finished working 60 straight hours at The Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre throughout a raging blizzard in St. John's, N.L., when she ran 24km to get much-needed groceries for her landlord and her two young children.
However, Roberts doesn't consider her efforts to be extraordinary. In fact, it simply displays the best of the Newfoundland spirit, said the native of Twillingate, N.L., a town about 450km north west of St. John's.
"Throughout the storm, there have been a lot of stories about people helping each other out," said Roberts, who captured the AUS women's cross country athlete of the year award in October and was named an AUS all-star.
"That's the way people are in Newfoundland," she said. "We do our best to help each other out. When you see someone who needs some help, that's what you do."
Roberts grew up playing "every sport there is," including basketball, softball, volleyball and hockey, but never took up running until her uncle in Gander encouraged her to try cross country.
She continued running when she got to Memorial University in St. John's, but did not compete often. She graduated with a nursing degree and started her job at Janeway in 2018. She returned to Memorial in the fall of 2019 for some upgrading.
She rejoined the cross country team and wound up winning individual gold at the AUS championship and helping her team to a bronze medal finish. She advanced to her first and only U SPORTS national championship meet in Kingston, Ont.
All of the running and training led her to the events surrounding last week's crippling storm with almost 80cm of snow and howling winds of up to 140km per hour. A state of emergency was declared in the Newfoundland and Labrador capital.
Roberts worked the overnight shift on Thursday night and into Friday morning. The storm hit fiercely, and Roberts and a small staff of nurses were forced to stay to work 60 straight hours until some roads were cleared. They were finally able to go home and replacements were brought in.
When Roberts got back to her basement apartment, she discovered her landlord, who has two children—ages one and three—was low on food. Roberts strapped on her backpack and headed out for the Dominion grocery store, about 12km away in Mount Pearl, where the state of emergency had been lifted.
"Some of the roads were not that bad and there were a few challenges, but it took me about an hour or so each way," Roberts said.
"She needed milk and bread, some produce and veggies," she said. "I knew she was worried about the kids. I was able to get the basics for her and it all worked out well for everyone. I am glad that I had the chance to help in a very difficult situation."
While at the grocery store, Roberts heard that Domino's Pizza was giving away free pizzas to first responders and other emergency workers. She knew there was a Domino's on her way back home, so she stopped and picked up a large pizza, which she stuffed into her overflowing backpack.
"Everyone enjoyed it," Roberts said. "Everyone needed a break at that point."
The break ends Friday night. That's when Roberts returns to work at the children's hospital.