Julie-Anne Staehli, a decorated distance running athlete for Queen’s University and Canada, has returned to Kingston and is now supporting current athletes at the university.
Staehli, 32, came to Queen’s in 2012 from Lucknow in southwestern Ontario. She wasn’t recruited by the Queen’s cross country and distance track team but approached former coach Steve Boyd for a place on the team and eventually emerged as one of the greatest distance runners at Queen’s. During her five years with the Gaels, from 2012-2016, Staehli earned a dozen podium finishes and was the first five-time All Canadian athlete at Queen’s.
In the classroom she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies and a Master of Science in Kinesiology and Sports Psychology.
After finishing 14th in her rookie year at the USports Cross Country Championship she won the 2013 national title with a time of 20:51.4, 17 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Also, while at Queen’s, she made her first national team competing at the 2014 FISU World University Cross Country Championships.
“Then from there I just continued to develop on the international stage; I qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021,” Staehli said in an interview with Tourism Kingston.
In the 5,000 metres she finished 32nd among the ultra-elite of the sport.
Staehli eventually represented Canada on ten national teams between Commonwealth Games, world championships, Pan-American Games and the Olympics.
At the Pan Am Games in Santiago in 2023 she won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres.
Post Queen’s she pursued a Teacher’s Degree at Western while competing for Canada and then training in Boston after signing a professional contract with New Balance.
“It was an amazing opportunity, all set sights on Paris in 2024,” she said. “That was the trajectory. The 5,000 metres was my main event and unfortunately, I broke my foot two months prior to the trials in 2024.”
It was one of the biggest life lessons and setbacks. It just confirmed that nothing is guaranteed, you can work so hard for something to have it slip away.
Staehli said she’s still disappointed she couldn’t compete in 2024 but holds out hope she can make the Canadian team for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“Paris broke my heart and I feel like I've still got some unfinished business on the track. It's not clear to me where my potential lies, whether moving up or down in distance, she said. “I believe I still have top end speed in me.”
She certainly continues to show it. Staehli won her first 5km Canadian Women’s Championship in 2022 and is the current reigning champion for the past 3 years (2024-26).
Student-athlete success through academic advising and leadership development remain a passion for her.
“There was something nudging me towards having a career outside of running, I was ready for an opportunity that would balance things out rather than just full-time sport but be able to really get into what I’m passionate about and student-athlete success is a center of that,” she said. “
At Queen’s she is the Manager of High Performance Team Operations as a maternity leave replacement. The position oversees the 13 varsity programs, and she’s heavily involved in the student-athlete experience.
Combining my sport experience, education background, sport research as well is really catered towards the varsity student-athlete environment and helping with academic advising, leadership development and all the pieces that I developed over the last 10 years.
She said the goal of her position is to eventually shape the programming and support student athletes.
“From my time as a student athlete to where we are now, there’s so much more supports and funding in place,” she said.
She supports student-athletes who are not moving on to the professional ranks.
“Less than three percent will go on to be professional athletes so what’s next? I think that’s the question a lot of people ask.”
Staehli tries to help students apply what they’ve learned in sport to real world situations.
“There are so many qualities of being an athlete that will transfer into life after university sports. How to apply those skills, that’s really where my heart is.”
She enjoys living and working in Kingston and calls the city a “hidden gem.”
“I don’t think people realize what the quality and what it has to offer in terms of the size of the city. In Kingston just being able to walk to work, being in a five-block radius of a grocery store, gym and work that’s a luxury that we oversee.”
The small farming community of Lucknow will always be Staehli’s hometown, but Kingston appears to be her adopted home. “It’s a full circle coming back to Kingston but there’s something about this city that has a way of pulling people back in,” Staehli said. “There’s a nice balance of accessibility.”
