Strong Kids Run raises funds for YMCA programs
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More than 350 runners and walkers laced up their shoes on Sunday as the YMCA hosted its 47th annual Strong Kids Run, raising funds to help families access YMCA programs and services.
Race director Steven Dyce said the event, one of Brandon’s longest-running road races, attracted 350 registered participants across several distances, including a one-kilometre Family Fun Run, a five-kilometre race, and a 10 km race.
This year, organizers streamlined the event by focusing on shorter distances. The YMCA eliminated its 15 km and 20 km races due to low participation and shifted its emphasis toward introducing more people to running.
Families run together in the one-kilometre Family Fun Run, one of the event’s most popular categories focused on participation and fun, on Sunday morning in front of the YMCA on Eighth Street. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)
“We reduced our events to just the five-kilometre and 10-kilometre distances, along with our one-kilometre Family Fun Run,” Dyce told the Sun. “The attendance numbers for the longer races were really low, so we wanted to focus on the grassroots level and the introduction to running.”
Dyce said the revised format appeared to resonate with participants, particularly families and first-time runners.
“This year was definitely a success,” he said. “There were lots of families and lots of people who were new to running, which is great.”
The event has continued to recover and grow following the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We lost a lot during COVID, but over the last five or six years the event has continued to grow,” Dyce said.
“We’ve got a really experienced team, so the event ran really smoothly. Everything felt relatively easy this year, and the weather co-operated, which is always good.”
Proceeds from the run support the YMCA’s Strong Kids Campaign, which helps families who may not otherwise be able to afford YMCA memberships, summer day camps or before-and-after-school programming, he said.
“We provide discounted memberships and reduced rates for programs to allow children and families to participate,” Dyce said. “The goal is to help them be healthy, active and develop into healthy, active adults.”
The YMCA expects the event to generate approximately $16,000 for the Strong Kids Campaign, he said.
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