In July 2022, Josh Lunda set himself in his blocks for the 100m final of the CTFL’s inaugural season, with a chance to make league history. At the gun, Huskies’ Jonelle Halog took off with the early lead, as Lunda’s larger frame took him a few extra strides to reach top speed.

As Lunda’s powerful stride quickened, he motored to the front of the pack and tore through the finish line.

“It felt like I belonged,” Lunda said. “For the majority of my track career, I always wanted to belong amongst the best in Canada.”

Last summer, the 2024 CTFL season, was a setback for the former champion. For the first time in league history, Lunda didn’t feature in the finals. After struggling all season and uncharacteristically failing to run under 11 seconds at any preliminary CTFL meet, Lunda was officially pulled away from the remainder of his season with a hamstring injury.

“I was devastated.”

“I’ve always worked hard my entire life, and to have not even the opportunity to try hurts,” Lunda continued in an interview almost a year later. “It hurts a lot, but it’s an acceptance that you need to have.”

Through his nearly 17 years as a sprinter, Lunda has learned to accept that injury is an inevitable part of the sport. Now only a few months away from the 2025 CTFL season, he’s no longer feeling deflated.

“Last season was more of a disaster for me because of the injuries and just being burnt out, but not accepting that I was burnt out.”

Instead of complaining, Lunda recalled the words of one of his coaches through his career. The coach would only allow Lunda to pity himself for a limited amount of time, because sooner rather than later, it was time to get back to work.

This time, Lunda took his injury as an opportunity to take a month-long break to not only nurse his hamstring, but take steps to reverse his burnout. He relaxed, rehabilitated, engaged with his faith and above all reflected on why he loves the sport and why he kept coming back.

Ultimately, Lunda is coming back. That’s no question for him, but he’s coming back rejuvenated.

“Coming back into this year with a better plan, more peace, a better, you know, just everything,” Lunda said. “I’m feeling very optimistic. I’m very ready to just go for it again and see what I can produce.

“I feel like I like track and field again.”

There’s a lot of excitement to be had in a new CTFL campaign, but in the league’s fourth season, the standards and competition have gotten steeper in Lunda’s absence.

Since last season, the 100m standard has lowered to 10.68, two hundredths of a second faster than Lunda’s quickest time in his 2022 championship season. Is it a cause for concern for the seasoned veteran?

“Not at all,” Lunda said. “I don’t need to pressure myself. Because getting into the times and standards and all that is just going to add anxiety. I don’t need to do it.

“I need to just get there, and I’ll get there when I need to get there.”

The faster standard comes in response to a season where two CTFL runners notched sub-10 second times during the season, the fastest the league has ever seen. One of those athletes is Lunda’s Bears teammate Usheoritse Itsekiri.

After coming to terms with a difficult season, Lunda no longer feels constrained by the pressure to perform, especially as a former champion. He described his current feeling towards his career as “freedom.”

“There’s kind of this freedom to be like, let’s just go see what I can do, and having the freedom that no one expected to do much, so I don’t have to pressure myself too much.”

Lunda has documented his return from injury on social media, in his Instagram series titled ‘What’s Left.’

“It’s basically kind of a metaphor for what’s left in my career right now. I just turned 29 last December, and, in sprinting, you’re starting to hit your peak years between age 26 to 30, right?”

Through seven episodes so far, Lunda has found getting back into the training routine without the weight of any expectations has him reinvigorated for the coming season.

“It’s really to prove to myself, can I keep going? Am I still good at this? Do I still have the drive?”

Lunda is looking to prove that the answers to those questions are all a resounding yes. To do that, his training starts with his first few strides off the gun. 

“The one thing I’ve been working on the most, and my coach has helped me get back on my feet for, is my start and my transition.”

A good start translates to a strong setup for the remainder of the race, which allows Lunda to simply follow the race plan and execute.

“Not panicking and not getting caught up in what everyone else is doing,” Lunda said. “Just allowing myself to get through the race.”

In his first few episodes of ‘What’s Left,’ Lunda worked on acceleration, more than anything else. He said it comes with gaining an understanding of how to carry his heavier build and accommodate his own specific skill set on the track. Of course, it’s an advantage for the mental battle that occurs within the short 100 metres, “to trust myself to get into that top speed.”

It goes back to Lunda’s 2022 championship, where his victory was no less than a rigorous mental and physical battle.

During the 2022 season, Lunda ran a 200m race in Halifax intended only to add onto his training. But in the last 50 metres, something popped in his ankle. Lunda said he thought to himself, “please don’t be a torn Achilles. Please don’t let it be that.”

Desperate for a solution that could keep his season alive, Lunda sought a massage therapist, physiotherapy, both offering some relief, but not enough. The solution came in osteopathy, coincidentally Lunda’s current area of study, which led to Lunda finding specific treatment to solve the issue.

Just days later, Lunda was at the Terry Fox Stadium, warming up for the 2022 CTFL 100m final. He said his accelerations felt good, stretches felt good, drills felt good.

“Everything’s just popping,” Lunda said. “I knew in that moment I’m going to run fast in this race.”

The rest you already know. Lunda became the first 100m champion in CTFL history. Years later, Lunda reflected on the honour of being the first winner and what it means to him.

“I still have a footprint in the sport, in the history of this league, that is just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”

That lasting sentiment of belonging continues to fuel Lunda’s drive to the track as the 2025 CTFL season is gearing up to begin.

“I’m going to keep going for it,” Lunda said. “When I look back at those achievements, I’m very proud of what I have and it reminds me that I can still keep going.”

“I’m not washed. I still have something to offer.”