Former Meadow Lake athlete Avery Pearson’s path has taken an interesting yet exciting new turn. Recently it was announced Pearson, a graduate of Carpenter High School and daughter of Meadow Lake’s Daryl and Andrea Pearson, has signed a professional contract with the Swiss shoe brand On Cloud. After a year of personal bests and consistent performances across the NCAA circuit and a few senior Canadian teams, the 23-year-old will step onto the professional stage in 2027.
“Back in July, I signed a professional contract with On Cloud – the running shoe company and brand – to start my professional running career, something that was just announced yesterday,” Pearson told Northern Pride when contacted last week. The opportunity came about following Pearson’s time as an NCAA athlete while attending the University of Colorado last season. “I knew it was my last year of eligibility, but, as for what came next, I knew I wanted to keep running,” she said. “So, I put my foot out there, I talked to my coaches at the University of Colorado and asked the head coach, if I were to turn pro, would I need to get an agent. Since I was about 16 years old, I knew about professional running as a career. At the time, my love for running was just beginning. But, I knew this would be a dream job… But, I didn’t know at all how to make that happen. Being from Meadow Lake, I didn’t know how to get my name out there, how to do anything. I didn’t have everything figured out, but I took the next step and took things one phase at a time.”
After a strong four-year career in the U Sports system with the University of Saskatchewan, Pearson joined the U.S. college scene at the University of Colorado. “I just took things in stride, talked to some professional teams and some coaches, signed with an agency and just went from there,” Pearson said. “It’s a different career path than most. You don’t have formal job interviews, but you are still sort of doing that when you talk to the different coaches. It’s about figuring out how to brand myself so I would sound like an interesting candidate. Not a ton of people get the opportunity to run professionally, so it sort of turned into a waiting game after my NCAA season ended… Then, I got the call from the On Cloud shoe brand in July offering me a contract.” As noted, On Cloud is a Swiss shoe brand with different professional groups based in Australia and Europe. The On Athletics Club (OAC) is the team Pearson is a part of in Boulder, Colorado where she is currently based. Pearson used the elective credits she earned at the University of Colorado to transfer back to the U of S, allowing her to earn her kinesiology degree from the University of Saskatchewan.
Although not necessarily common knowledge, professional running is a viable career path where athletes earn a living through athletic performance, commercial partnerships and appearances. Corporate sponsorship is the bedrock of a running career. Major sportswear brands (like Nike, Adidas, Brooks and Hoka or, in this case, On) sign athletes to contracts. These deals often provide a base salary, gear, and travel expenses in exchange for exclusive product wear and marketing appearances. “The main way make money is to sign a professional contract, so I do have a salary through On, as well as by being part of the team,” Pearson said. “It’s kind of like a regular job in that sense while they also provide gear, physiotherapy, different treatment and so on. It all comes with the job. My work is to push my body to the limit, to have my nutrition dialled, and now I have the extra time I didn’t have as a student athlete to really dial in those one per cent things that can make a difference. I’m not taking this opportunity lightly because I now feel I can train full-time to qualify for future world championships, the Olympics and things like that.”
As a member of the OAC team, Pearson will still compete at various meets on the U.S. and European circuits (while in the On gear), but, if she qualifies for a national team or for the Olympics, she will run for Team Canada. “That is basically our objective with our jobs,” she said. “We also have athlete summits, seminars and we’re going to the New York City marathon to represent the On brand. On is very collaborative with its athletes, so I will be visiting there headquarters, collaborating on new shoes, clothing lines and more. They utilize their athletes to improve their brand and to advertise their brand.”
Meanwhile, when Pearson was initially offered her pro contract, she said the moment was made extra special because she was in Meadow Lake visiting her family at the time. “Being in Meadow Lake, being in my childhood home with my parents when I got that call meant, when I got off the phone with my agent, I could give my parents the news right away,” she said. “It was just so special because they are my number one supporters at the end of the day… It was special for me to be able to tell them first and in person. They know the joy I get from running, they saw the work I put in and were there when I earned my first medals for running. It felt like a full circle moment to get the news in Meadow Lake.”
In spite of her success, however, Pearson said she still feels humble to be a small town Saskatchewan girl who simply continued taking the next step and continued taking risks. “It was a risk to go to the NCAA and to go to another country and whole new environment,” she said. “But, I am proud of all the lessons and the consistency, and the experiences I had being in U Sports first and being able to take those experiences with me. I’m proud of all that. I didn’t know what to do in the beginning, but I made it happen because I wanted it bad enough for myself.” Pearson also said it’s her hope she can serve as an inspiration for other young girls living in Meadow Lake. “You don’t need to have it all figured out,” she said. “You just have to stick with whatever it is that’s calling out to your heart, whatever it is you’re passionate about. It does not have to make sense to anyone else. The options are endless when it comes to what you can do with your life. It made sense for me and I didn’t always know where the path would lead me, but I stayed on it and kept working hard. Those are the words of wisdom I would like to share, especially to the people living in Meadow Lake. You can do anything and those dreams really do start in childhood.” In closing, Pearson said she is excited to embark on her professional career. “I’m also very proud, and especially proud to be from Meadow Lake,” she said.