Annie’s Pace Global Adventure raises awareness about heart health

Nine years ago, Annie Smith, a local personal trainer and group fitness instructor, found herself faced with a rare, incurable, life-threatening heart disease: cardiac sarcoidosis. Admitted to the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN in Toronto, and fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), Smith was put under the care of world-renowned cardiologist Dr. Heather Ross, who specializes in heart failure patients, Smith was told that she was too ill to engage in exercise.

“At our very first meeting…(Dr. Ross) explained that my heart was so inflamed that it would be very unsafe for me to continue my regular fitness routines at the time,” Smith remembers. “She told me that I could walk…. that was the hardest pill I’ve ever had to swallow. Now walking is one of my favourite exercises.”

Though scarring remains in her heart and keeping inflammation in check is a daily challenge, Smith decided to turn her experience into an opportunity to raise awareness about heart disease.

In 2019, Smith created Annie’s Pace – with the goal of walking as many kilometres on a treadmill in four days to raise awareness and funds for Dr. Heather Ross’ Test Your Limits (TYL) Initiative for heart disease. With perseverance, determination and sheer willpower, Smith walked 161 km and raised much awareness – along with $5,500.

Not long thereafter, Smith changed the name from Annie’s Pace to Annie’s Pace Global Adventure (APGA); between an amazing support system and the reach of social media, it easily became global in less than a year.

APGA is a four-day, all-abilities physical adventure that takes place annually each May to raise awareness of heart health. Participants from around the world – including from as far away as Greece, Hong Kong, Spain, and the United Kingdom – exercise for a minimum of one hour each day, or exercise as much as they can each day over the course of the four days. APGA likewise encourages organ donation, and Smith points out that eight lives can be saved when participants sign up for organ donation. Finally, APGA functions as a heart fundraiser for the Test Your Limits (TYL) Initiative. Dr. Heather Ross founded the TYL Initiative in 2006 and has raised over $4 million for heart failure research, heart health, and cardiac transplantation, which benefits the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Health Research at University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto. More information abut TYL can be found at testyourlimits.ca.

The 6th Annual Annie’s Pace Global Adventure takes place May 24-27, 2024. Smith’s All the Right Moves Studio in Omemee is open on May 24 and May 26 from 10 a.m. through 7 p.m. (and again on May 27 from 4 p.m. through 7 p.m.) for drop-in to work out any way attendees want for one hour, or to test their limits each day. On May 25, 9 a.m. through Noon, Smith is hosting a Health and Fitness Fair and Heart Fundraiser at the Cavan Monaghan Community Centre (CMCC) in Millbrook. There will be a variety of local supporters with tables set up along with five hours of fitness classes offered.

Admission to either location during the four days is by donation to APGA. There will be opportunities to donate in-person at both events, or participants can donate online at support.uhnfoundation.ca/goto/anniespace2024.

Interested participants are asked to please contact Smith at for more information.