Growing up in Humboldt, Sask., 110 kilometres from a decent track, Brianne Theisen-Eaton made do.
When she was in Grade 9, and coaches from Saskatoon suggested she train there, her dad Cal bought a Honda Civic — because it was good on gas — and together they'd make the 220-kilometre round trip four afternoons a week.
Cal, an elementary school principal, would sit in the cafeteria of the track facility and catch up on his work while Brianne trained.
When she was in Grade 10, Cal borrowed a set of throwback scissor hurdles from the local high school, and lined them up in the alley behind their home. It was the best flat surface he could find.
Theisen-Eaton is a good bet to capture Canada's first-ever Olympic heptathlon medal at the Rio Games. At the recent unveiling of the Canadian Olympic track and field team, the 27-year-old welled up when she spoke of her dad.
Theisen-Eaton is a sucker for the tear-jerking Olympic mom campaigns — she and her mom Kim star in one — but she said a lot of the credit goes to her dad.
"My mom (Kim) supported me, but she was more . . . she packed me snacks and made sure I had my stuff, and made me dinner," Theisen-Eaton said in Edmonton. "That's why it was such a team effort. I couldn't have done it without either of them. But I (literally) couldn't have done it without my dad, which is why it's hard for me to separate them."
Theisen-Eaton and her American husband Ashton Eaton are gunning for double gold in Rio. Ashton is the reigning Olympic champion and world record-holder in the decathlon. His stiffest competition should come from Canada's Damian Warner.
Eight family members will cheer the couple on in Rio, including Cal and Kim, an agriculture loans officer, plus Brianne's sister Jessica, Cal's parents, Kim's mom and sister, and Eaton's mom Roz.
First contested at the 1984 Olympics, the heptathlon has seven events over two days. Day 1 is the 100-metre hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 metres. Day 2 has long jump, javelin and the 800 metres.
Theisen-Eaton scored 6,765 points to win the prestigious Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis in May, and finds herself atop the world rankings, ahead of British rival Jessica Ennis-Hill, the reigning world and Olympic champion.
Theisen-Eaton was an all-around athlete growing up, and managed to combine soccer and volleyball with track in her early high school years. It was in Grade 9 that coaches first approached her dad about potentially turning her into a heptathlete.
"When we first talked to her about that, she was a little bit of a drama queen," Cal said, laughing. "'I can't high jump, I can't throw the javelin.' She went on like that for a while.
"I said, 'You know what Brianne? We've never forced you to do anything, but maybe you should just give it a try, go to practice and practise some of these new events.' So she did, and then it didn't take long and she started to see lots of progress. She went into her first heptathlon. . . kind of blew everybody away. I think she probably realized then 'Yeah, I can do this."
She was able to parlay her success into an NCAA scholarship at the University of Oregon, where she would meet Eaton in her freshman year.
Cal did all the NCAA legwork, said Theisen-Eaton. He put together a video compilation of some of her competitions, along with her high school grades, and shipped them to a wish list of universities. He signed Theisen-Eaton's name to each accompanying letter.
"I was getting calls from Division 1 schools, coaches calling and saying 'Hey Brianne, it's so-and-so from whatever school.' I had no idea who it was, and my dad would be (in the background mouthing) 'Oh, just talk to them. I called them,'" she said with a laugh.
"He said 'I just don't want you to take time away from your schoolwork and training to do all this.' He wouldn't bother me with it. He got everything set up."
Theisen-Eaton was 10th at the 2012 London Olympics. Former Canadian record-holder Jessica Zelinka finished sixth.
Theisen-Eaton was relatively new on the global scene in London, a Games that saw Canada win just one track and field medal — Derek Drouin's bronze in high jump. She and others, such as Warner and Drouin, called those Olympics a turning point for Canada's young track and field squad.
"I feel like four years ago when I made the team, I was like super excited, like 'This is going to be an amazing experience, something I've never experienced before,' I was celebrating before I even competed there," she said. "And this time, I'm excited, but it's another meet. I'm going there very focused. I'm going there to do something, it's business.
"It's not 'Oh, this experience is going to be wonderful.' It's 'This is a job, I have a job to do.' I feel more focused and emotionally stable, and the celebrating can happen after."
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.