May 5, 2018 marked a RECORD attendance at the Run at The Ridge 2km and 5km race. 1431 runners, wearing the color turquoise, enjoyed the beautiful sun and warm weather. Adding to the hundreds of Whyte Ridge Community runners, we were excited to see over 80 runners from Carman, Manitoba, 160 runners from Robert H. Smith School in Winnipeg and many new Whyte Ridge Elementary Families from Bridgwater.
Bailey Bram (2018 PyeongChang Olympic silver medalist in women’s hockey) and Chantal VanLandeghem (2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist women’s swimming relay) were our celebrity guests. They officially started the 2km race at 8:30am and the 5k race at 9:15 a.m. Tyler Carr from Energy 106 was also on hand to get the crowd going. Buzz, Boomer, Green Drop and Lionel from Boston Pizza were on hand to bring hugs and smiles to the kids and adults at the start and finish line.
Serratus Movement Centre’s Ninja Obstacle Course, the Motion Zone (provided by Fit Kids Healthy Kids), two balloon artists, hair painting and face painting and a coloring station provided an outlet for kids to enjoy post race. Bailey and Chantal were signing autographs, taking pictures and sharing their Olympic medals after the race. Kenaston Common Physiotherapy provided nutrition advice, massages and care for sore muscles. Tummies were filled with a well-deserved pancake and ham breakfast prepared and served by our local Steinbach Credit Union. The gym and outdoor areas were a perfect setting for a family breakfast. Morden’s chocolate did not disappoint….little delicious bags of chocolates were handed out to all participants. 1400 scrumptious homemade cookies were donated by Whyte Ridge and Tough Track volunteers and delicious oranges and bananas were donated by Sobeys and Safeway. Booster Juice, Starbucks, Corpells and McDonalds provided free beverages for all participants.
Henry G. Izatt student photographers donated their time to take photographs of our event. Visit our website www.runattheridge.com for a link to these race day memories! Results from the 2k (top 3 in each age category) and the 5k are also on the website.
Did you win a prize? We hope so! Over 25 door prizes and 30 auction prizes (valued between $250 – $500 each) were donated from local businesses, community families, the Tough Track parents and perfect strangers. We had signed Jets jerseys, a Jacob Trouba game stick from the playoffs, outdoor furniture, garden décor, children’s games, a weekend getaway at an Ontario lodge just to name a few. The raffle alone brought in over $3000.00 for Whyte Ridge Elementary, HGI, Tough Track and the SOY Foundation. If you are interested in sponsoring us for 2019, please contact Erin (fundraising chair) at erin_wilmot@hotmail.com.
We had our colouring contest for the 3rd year. Champion Design provided the cool picture for budding artists to be creative. The three winners (drawn at random) were Leilani M., Grace A., and Kaius Z., all students at Whyte Ridge. They all won a yummy candy jar.
An event of this scale could not be a success without an amazing team of volunteers. Our committee members (about 12 of us) first met in November 2017. Special thanks to those who worked for many, many hours behind the scene – Cindy MacKinnon, Bernie Agius, Erin White, Cari Hunter, Jen Kreitz, Shannon MacInnes, Patti Craven, Karl Gradt, Sue Zajac (Race Co-Chair) and Cheryl Zealand (Race Co-Chair). If you are interested in being a part of our team, contact Sue at szajac@pembinatrails.ca. There were also 110 Race Day volunteers to ensure our participants had a great time! We are fortunate to have a community invested in health and wellness, grounded by true spirit. We look forward to making 2019 Run at the Ridge even more fantastic!
THANK YOU!
