Dunfee’s new partnership designed to power him over the finish line

With only days to go before the Olympic Games open in Tokyo, Evan Dunfee has served up a new corporate partnership that is more about drumming up support than making some serious cheddar.

What Dunfee’s new partnership with Kraft Dinner is really about, though, is getting Canadians to walk a mile (or a couple blocks) in the soon-to-be two-time Olympian’s shoes. If you want to show Dunfee some love, lace up, try a race walk, and don’t forget to capture it on your phone.

“We’re looking at having no fans there (in Tokyo for the Olympics) live, so just knowing that, back home, I have tons and tons of people supporting me by trying race walking means a lot and I’ll see that,” said Dunfee.

Canadian fans can show Dunfee and KD what they are made of by sharing a race walking video on social media from July 13 to Aug. 8, tagging @kraftdinner and using #KDRaceWalkers for the chance to win a Kraft Dinner x Evan Dunfee signature kit.

“Back in the day in the sport, my goal was purely selfish. I wanted to be the best that I could be and nothing else really mattered beyond that,” said Dunfee. “The last six years, I’ve really matured. I’ve seen another side of me come out, one where there’s this whole community aspect and I want to use my platform to do good. One of those things includes getting more people active, getting more people walking and breaking down the barrier that people think walking isn’t exercise.”

It has long been a challenge for athletes to get and maintain personal corporate partnerships, a struggle Dunfee has experienced first-hand. He’s gone through a number of apparel partnerships, even with a track record of recent success, such as his fourth-place finish at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 and his bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships. In this case, the combination of a partner’s faith in him and being a favourite product sealed the deal.

“It’s so cool because, throughout my career, I’ve always been the one to shout at whoever would listen to say that I have value and that race walking has value,” said Dunfee. “Then KD came to me and said, ‘Hey Evan, we think you have value and that race walking has value. We want to give you a megaphone and a soapbox so your voice echoes louder.’”

Whether it’s his new carb of choice, the confidence that comes from a World Championships medal, or just his maturation, Dunfee has made the 2021 season one for the record books, setting new Canadian records in the 5,000-metre (18:39.08) and 10,000-metre (38:39.72) race walk, as well as a world 10-kilometre treadmill race walking record (39:02).

“Things are going really well. It’s weird because it was a thing where the Games were really far away … until they were right around the corner. There was never that moment where the Games were getting a little bit closer,” said Dunfee. “I had to take that 10-storey view back and see that I’ve done so many sessions this year that were best-ever sessions. From breaking the 5-kilometre Canadian record, to 40-kilometre personal bests in training, and just leaning on that to know where I’m at.”

With his physical fitness set, the mental side of preparing for a 50-kilometre race in the summer heat at the Olympic Games takes on even more importance. “More than anything, and definitely unlike 2016, I’ve been able to come home from a training session, put it in my training diary and then move on. I don’t find myself dwelling on tough sessions or focusing too much on good sessions.”

The field at the 50-kilometre race walking start line has not competed against each other in almost two years, since Dunfee’s bronze-medal performance at Worlds in Doha. With this Olympic experience being so different than a normal Games experience, or World Championships, Dunfee is working on controlling what he can control and being prepared for the unexpected.

While Dunfee hopes to see plenty of notifications on his phone, featuring photos and videos from new race walkers on social media leading up to race day on Aug. 6 in Sapporo, he has already begun the process of narrowing his focus on the competitive task at hand.

“Going from that point person, who is willing to talk about some of the trickier topics and, as we get closer to the Games, compartmentalizing those things and putting aside Evan the skeptical activist and focusing on Evan the selfish athlete,” said Dunfee. “As we get closer to these Games, it’s about narrowing that focus to what I need to do to close my mind off and forge ahead to what my goals are.”

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