On Sunday, February 27th, 2011, the Burnaby Sun Run InTraining Clinic’s got together for their annual Burnaby Lake Halfway 5K event. Event organizer and Area Coordinator Rainy Kent gives us a terrific description of how the day went!
OK… so we awoke to a fabulous winter wonderland!
What to do? After taking everyone’s comfort level into consideration – getting around the “white stuff” and thinking “safety first” – the decision was made… GO FOR IT!
Our van (Joe and Rainy’s) was loaded and ready to go and the custodian who was hired for our event had made it in to work (he walked and was already at the Pavilion awaiting our arrival!).
The crew from the City of Burnaby had been by to shovel the sidewalk, the freeway trail gate was unlocked for us, there were no excuses! The event would go on!
Joe put the chains on the van and we slowly made our way up Gilmore Avenue. Once we got to Hastings, we knew we would make it to the Lake unscathed. First hurdle over! Now, would we be the only ones there besides the custodian? Not so! Alice Lam (kitchen queen extraordinaire) was at the Pavilion by the time we arrived, ready to start organizing the refreshments. Boxes and boxes of food from a variety of supporters like Monte Cristo Bakery, Terra Breads, Left Coast Naturals, and produce from a variety of independent markets were unloaded, cut and set out by our fabulous kitchen crew. I looked around and leader after leader was arriving on site, excited… actually excited, about getting out on to the course to support our clinic participants!
It was going to be a great day! North Shore Athletics arrived with a fabulous display of technical clothing at bargain basement prices and Denise from Sporty Jewels was on site setting up her display. The Tim Horton’s Community Cruiser drove into the parking lot (all the way from White Rock!), arriving on site with coffee, donuts and goodies for all. We had all the ingredients in place for a fabulous event, and darn it, that’s exactly what we were going to have!
So, we didn’t quite start at 9:00am “sharp,” it was closer to 9:10am, for reasons we all can appreciate. The snow was still coming down but people were smiling and everyone was ready! With a “have a great event” cheer to all, the count down started. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… and everyone was on their way!
Back at the finish line, the cheering section was waiting in anticipation of the first person to cross. Magnus Beales of the Gilmore clinic did not disappoint and was the first male to finish in an impressive time – considering the conditions – of 22:40! Kaley Cochrane, also of the Gilmore clinic, was our second place finisher and our first female to cross with a time of 24:25.
For the next hour and 35 minutes, participant after participant and leader after leader crossed the finish line. The general consensus was that “it really wasn’t that bad” and I think I actually heard a few, “this was worth getting up for” comments! Woooo hooooo!
All in all, we had 139 people participate in our event in conditions that were less than perfect. It wasn’t our usual 300-plus, but all things considered… it was darn impressive!
I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Clinic Coordinators, Betty Riddle and Sarah Tobun (Bonsor Clinic Coordinators), Kathy Ford (Cameron Clinic Coordinator), Geraldine Parent (Confederation Clinic Coordinator) and Kristine “Energizer” Lewis (Eastburn Clinic Coordinator) and the leader teams from each of these clinics for an absolutely outstanding job!
You have to know that it’s the support you provide and the example you set that guides so many people forward as they make incredible lifestyle changes, even after spending only a few fabulous weeks with you during InTraining. WOW!
Thank you to our First Aid crew, the unbelievable Richen father/son firefighter team. Year after year, you guys ensure we are safe out there. THANK YOU!
Thank you to the City of Burnaby for providing us with the Pavilion as our venue and to the amazing custodian who actually walked to work so he wouldn’t be late for us! Thank you to the Parks crew for shoveling the sidewalk, keeping us safe and having everything ready for our arrival. Another “WOW!”
Many thanks to everyone who supported this event with food donations and draw prizes Monte Cristo Bakery, Sporty Jewels, North Shore Athletics, Tim Horton’s, Left Coast Naturals, Terra Breads, among others!
Also, a very special thank you to Shannon McBurney, our SportMedBC Run/Walk Manager who is our fabulous “go to” person for all of our SportMed needs, and her fiancé Ted Rivers (Vancouver Area Coordinator) for coming out and supporting our event.
Thank you to all of our participants who ventured out their door on Sunday morning. You guys are amazing… here’s to another wonderful 6 weeks of training!
And last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank Joe. For getting us to the Lake, for making the lists, for checking them twice and for telling me over and over that everything would work out!
You were right Joe, it all worked out!
