Training for Solidarity – Haiti Fundraiser
Date: Saturday January 30
Location: Palais Royale (1601 Lake Shore Boulevard West)
Distance: 10km or 20km
Running Free had planned on hosting its annual 10km run in Haiti in January but after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010; a decision was made to re-group efforts and organize a training run in Toronto and Hamilton to raise funds to support Haiti in its time of need. Therefore the Toronto/Hamilton event was named “Haiti – Training for Solidarity” after what was to have been “the Marathon de la Soliderite”.
Here’s my re-cap on the day’s events:
It was a chilly Saturday morning but Palais Royale was bustling with many bright smiling faces helping direct people towards registration, coat check, and bathrooms.
There were fantastic shirts to commemorate the event and Team Running Free pace bunnies were set out for speeds of 4:30, 4:45, 4:50, 5:00, 5:20, 5:30, and 5:45 for the 10-20km route.
Everyone huddled together inside Palais Royale for warmth while waiting for the start to commence. With about 5 minutes to go, everyone headed outside as the pace bunnies held up their speed/signs to gather together their runners (note to self: bring lots of safety pins next time… and perhaps wear a cool funky costume with ears). 9:30am hits and off we go! I was honoured to be able to run beside Syd Trefiak (an incredibly talented and humble ironman triathlete from Team Running Free). I was running the 10km route with a 5min/km pace and Syd was running the 20km route with the same pace.
The ground was pretty clean and clear so we didn’t have to worry about slipping on ice. We ran west along the beautiful waterfront and crossed a few bridges with gracefully frozen waters below (gosh – who doesn’t love running over bridges?). It was quite chilly and the moisture around my eyes froze and created a fan of white lashes. I looked to my left and could see some ice crystals forming on Syd’s facial hair but all thoughts of making any possible complaints on the cold disappeared as we saw a guy run by past us in shorts. Yes – shorts! That’s bold!
There were several trees tied with ribbons so we could follow the marked route easily.
At the halfway turn we still felt pretty good and maintained the pace with our pack as we headed back to Palais Royale.
We ran past a lot of cherry faces and I pumped my fist in the air while smiling and shouting to give them continuing encouragement. They waved back and smiled as they pushed on with vigour. It really takes a lot of strength and discipline to be up early on a Sunday morning running in the cold by a lake so I couldn’t help but share my enthusiasm for awesomeness.
There were also some people out with their dogs and again I couldn’t contain myself and had to shout “Good morning” and “what a beautiful dog” at the golden retriever and a rottweiler that we passed.
Some people tried to sip from the fuel belts that they ran with; but those ended up freezing as well. I suppose Camelbak hydration systems would be a good tool to use in winter running? I think the heat built up in a runner’s back might be able to keep the water warm enough to prevent being frozen.
We reached the 10km mark, there were several Running Free volunteers welcoming us back and encouraging us to go in for some hot soup and bagels. I stayed outside for a while and was elated to be able to jump up and down giving out high 5s to all the smiling runners coming in.
What an incredible day! Over 1,200 runners from across Ontario ran and raised over $80,000.00 for special projects in Haiti. Thank-you everyone for coming out and for the lovely experience!
Here is a very well made video gallery of pictures in Haiti along with a promotional segment for the run by Esther and Gord Pauls.http://www.thespec.com/videogallery/707849
