YMCA Strong Kids Run goes virtual

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/05/2020 (2218 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The YMCA Strong Kids Run won’t be the same this year due to the pandemic, but for one organizer of the annual event that means she’ll get to participate in a different way come May 30 and 31.

Melissa Roberts, a member of the race committee, will don her sneakers and get running for the first time for this 41st annual event, which will take place using social media and information technology.

“I’ve been a part of the race committee for four years, so I am normally, day of, doing lots of different things,” Roberts said.

Roberts describes the scene at Princess Park, which usually take place the last Sunday in May.

“The vibe is insane. There’s so many people walking around cheering on the racers. All of our stuff is set up at Princess Park. We’ll have massages set up there. We’ll have food for the racers. It’s kind of the general meeting area for friends and family, so once you cross the finish line, they’re rooting for you and cheering for you.”

But not this year, and Roberts said she will miss seeing people cross that finish line. Handing out medals to those who complete their run was one of her favourite things.

Both she and YMCA program manager Steven Dyce are disappointed, but want to make the best of it.

“Obviously, it’s been going on for a long time,” Dyce said.

“It’s a big community event where we get upwards of 500 people. So it’s just kind of trying to do our best to offer something, which is obviously why we decided to go down the virtual route.”

Dyce has observed other events come up with innovative ways to go ahead despite health and safety restrictions.

“We were just thinking outside the box this year. We wanted to do something but also make it really simple, easy to do,” he said.

“We’re going to use the power of social media. So using Facebook and Instagram, they’ll be able to participate in the run.”

Participants can choose one, five, 10, 15 or 20-kilometre runs. Distance and time can be tracked with a Fitbit watch, Google Maps or an online application, such as Strava.

“Anything that tracks distance and time,” Dyce said.

For Roberts, who is a personal trainer at the YMCA, the event is also about being there for those who set goals in January.

“We have this planned out in January and then all of a sudden March is like, ‘Oh, hey, we actually can’t get together, we can’t do a race,’” Roberts said.

“But wait, we need to turn this to the positive and say we can do it. We’re supporting you in reaching your goals. We’re doing this virtual race and go out and crush your goal. Yes, we can give you a race. It’s just going to look a little different.”

Roberts said she’s stoked to be running, though she hasn’t done much of it in the past three months.

“I’m going to try to do the 20 K. I’ve done multiple half-marathons. I might as well go big or go home. It might be a turtle’s pace. That is totally fine. As long as you finish that’s all we care about,” she said.

The Strong Kids campaign is nationwide. Last year, according to the YMCA Canada website, more than $13 million was raised, with more than 125,000 children, teens and young adults participating in programming they might not otherwise have access to.

Dyce said that this year there’s no need to pre-register. Donations to the Strong Kids campaign can be made directly on the YMCA Brandon website.

“(Donations) go toward funding either part of their membership, part of their day-camp programming, all those kinds of things,” Dyce said.

“Basically anything that anybody can donate is amazing,” Roberts said.

The top three participants in each distance will receive a medal. All participants will receive a YMCA towel or laces.

 

» mletourneau@brandonsun.com

» Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.