I'm from Winnipeg, Manitoba. There are three things that control my life: running, maps, and programming.
I started doing middle distance running in junior high, going around a track near where I lived. I don't think I ever broke five miles on that thing. Eventually I joined the cross-country team in high school, where the longest distance I ran was 15km in an event at Assiniboine park.
I attended the University of Manitoba where I graduated with a Bachelors of Computer Science. One of the most pivotal moments of my time at university was finding a book on generating fractal landscapes. It included an algorithm that stuck with me, and would mould my personal programming projects for decades. Now I could make my own maps!
After graduating, I worked for a time in Winnipeg. However, one of my old job applications I had made during university contacted me and offered me much more money, but in Edmonton. I have to move out from home eventually. So off to Edmonton!
Running fell to the wayside, and got replaced with walking. I didn't have a car, and I hated being at the mercy of the bus system. After three years of pedestrianism, I got a vehicle. I immediately joined a gym. I work in a sedate industry; if I don't exercise, I'm going to get fat.
After a few years of treadmill running (how did I stay sane?), I showed up at The Running Room and attended one of their Run Club events. I don't think I ever went back to the gym after that. My running distance rapidly increased, and the peer pressure from friends led to me completing ultramarathons.
In the meantime, I became a fan of improvised theatre, and started to attended improv classes. I continued my own personal programming, having my fractal map app go through several languages and many complete rewrites.
And that is the state of the Erik.