YMCA fundraiser still going strong

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This article was published 27/05/2024 (865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Carberry’s Valerie McDonald was in high school, she liked long distance running and that’s why she started back up again, but this time she decided to get her son Brody involved.

“He took an interest in run club at school, and so we thought, ‘Let’s run together, let’s give it a try,’” McDonald said.

Mom and son were two of the 300 participants who took part in Brandon YMCA’s 45th annual Strong Kids Run on Sunday morning, which began and ended in the city’s downtown.

Since the run raises money for kids, McDonald said, she thought it would be a great first event for Brody to be in. And he said, he wanted to be prepared.

“We did the 5K, so I practised at run club,” Brody said. “At school we’d run around the block about six times.”

McDonald said they kept an even pace running side by side, “And then we thought the last little bit we’d sprint, so I said, ‘If you can go faster than me, go as fast as you can,’ so he beat me,” she said with a big smile.

The YMCA Strong Kids Run raises money for programs that help give kids opportunities they might otherwise miss out on, said Steven Dyce, program manager and race director for the Strong Kids Run.

“Our Strong Kids campaign helps lower-income families, and helps people participate in proven Y programs that maybe they wouldn’t be able to access, otherwise,” Dyce said.

“And we do that through discounted memberships, discounted summer camp programs, and subsidy for our before- and after-school programming,” he said.

Dyce and the dozens of volunteers reported to the Y on the 200 block of Eighth Street on Sunday at 4 a.m. – four hours before the start, to set up pylons for the race circuit, dispatch the race marshals, give last minute instructions to the cyclists leading the runners, prepare the medals and set up the gantry, which is the giant inflatable structure that is visible from several blocks away. It served as both the starting gate and finish line.

“Our event had four different timed events,” Dyce said. “The five, 10, 15 and 20K, those were timed. We also had a five and 10K walk, and a family fun run which was one kilometre.”

The first time Brooklyn Paddock took part in the Strong Kids Run was about six years ago she said, when she was in Grade 6.

Sunday’s race was up against herself she added – and was looking to carve a few minutes off her recent running time.

“I’ve been practicing for a couple of months now, just to beat my own personal record,” said Paddock. “And at that time, I was 31 minutes running 5K, and I think I finished it in 26 minutes today, so I feel pretty good because I worked towards it.”

From last month’s Boston Marathon to winning the 20K timed event in Sunday’s Strong Kids Run, Brandon’s Trent Gill said he was happy with his time after shaving off a couple of minutes from previous years.

“I was breathing pretty hard on the last lap,” said Gill. “Especially the east end hill, that’s always a tough part of the course.

“So, this year, I ran under 75 minutes. My best time before on this course was probably 78 or 79 minutes.

“My goal today was to run smarter than I have this spring and I think I accomplished that. I ran a lot smarter today than I have at Boston and at the Winnipeg Police Service half marathon.

“And this is my fifth or sixth time, and honestly I keep coming back because of the community – it’s a great event,” Gill said.

Richard LaPorte, a Grade 11 student from Carberry, said he’s always liked running as he held his medal for coming in first in his age group in the 5K.

“I’ve been running since I was about eight or nine, and just good at it, maybe it’s genetics or something, but I like to challenge myself,” LaPorte said.

“When you’re running, I like the feeling that everything disappears, it’s just you and a feeling of fearlessness,” he said.

Sunday’s Strong Kids Run is part of the YMCA’s annual Strong Kids fundraising campaign, which has a goal of $150,000, said Dyce, adding the run usually raises about $10,000 to $15,000.

Aside from setting the objective to raise a certain amount of money, Dyce said there is another and bigger goal of the run.

“For me, it’s about encouraging our community to not only be fit and healthy, but to lead active lives and support family, friends and everybody else.

“And during the run or walk, they get to see all the other participants and potentially be inspired to come back and maybe try a longer distance or try to beat their time next year or sign up for a different event.

“Our event is a grassroots event. So, we’re hoping it inspires kids to be healthy, active and turn into responsible, healthy active adults as well,” Dyce said.

The results from all the races will be posted on the Results Canada website, once they have been entered. For more information, visit https://resultscanada.com/

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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