Couple of the Quarter | Jonelle Koop-Yumang & Melvin Yumang

Inspired Soles

Our COTQ series is meant to highlight the different aspects of what it means to be in a partnership when one or both people are runners and do we ever have a power couple to feature today in Jonelle Koop-Yumang and Melvin Yumang.

Melvin is the runner of their duo but as you’re about to hear, his 6-year running journey has aligned very closely with the couple’s fertility journey…and what a wild ride it has been for them! Their story is filled with love, loss, grief, hope, setbacks, serendipity, more hope, more setbacks, and eventually an 8-lb 2-oz miracle in the form of baby Jameson, who at 4.5 months can be heard cooing in the background for most of this interview.

Fertility can understandably be a sensitive topic and we want to put that disclaimer on this episode. For many years Jonelle & Melvin kept their struggles private, but baby Jameson is a direct result of letting their guards down and in that sense they’ve found unexpected beauty in opening up and being vulnerable.
Resources we discussed in the episode:

• Arli Cruikshank | Running Through Surrogacy
• Couple of the Quarter | Bo Huang & Mingdi Zhou
• Jonelle's tumor: Myxopapillary Ependymoma
• Embryo adoption (US)
• Embryo donation (Canada)

Connect with Melvin & Jonelle:

• Instagram: @emjaywhy

Connect with Carolyn & Kim:

• Email us with guest ideas: [e-mail]
• Inspired Soles Instagram
• Kim's Instagram
• Kim's Facebook
• Carolyn's Instagram
• Carolyn's Facebook

You can help spread the running love! The best way to SUPPORT Inspired Soles is to share your favourite episode(s) with friends, subscribe, or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Connect on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to [e-mail].