Twenty students and two teachers from Silver Creek Elementary School (SCES) participated in the school’s first five-kilometre run on March 12.
The run was part of the school’s newly minted running program which was created by Vanessa Hope, one of SCES’s Indigenous support workers.
“The main theme that has come out from the teachers, the staff, and myself, is being proud of the students for realizing that they can do something that was difficult,” Hope said. “And it showed them that persistence pays off. So, I’m really proud of them.”
The run was part of an eight-week running program, created and organized by Hope, to help promote healthy living while also teaching students leadership skills, independence, and how to commit to long term goals or projects. The students trained twice a week during lunchtime and once, independently, on the weekend with the goal of completing a five-kilometre run by the end of the program. Both the training and the final run took place in the Silver Creek neighbourhood, with students and the teachers starting and ending their runs at SCES.
The run event opened with a drumming ceremony from Justin Kelly, a member from Shxw’ow’hamel First Nation. Afterwards, Lynn Kanuka led the students in a warmup before the run started. Kanuka is a member of the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council (ISPARC) and a 1984 Olympic bronze medal runner.
Hope said she drew upon her own experiences with Vancouver Sun Run to plan the SCES run. This included ensuring that there was a water break area for the students, music playing throughout the run, and having people cheer them on throughout the route.
All students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, were welcome to join the program.
Kristine Pérez de León, a member of the Hope Running Club, volunteered once a week to help with the training. She also helped out during the run, along with four leadership students from Hope Secondary School (HSS), including Hope’s daughter and a few of her daughter’s friends.
“It was so much fun!” Pérez de León said. “The energy was electric. It was heartwarming seeing all the students enjoy all the hard work they put in, and the incredible support from all the other teachers and students helping to make the event day happen, and the kids supported with all the cheering.”
Hope took some training with ISPARC to teach the students how to run. Afterwards, she applied for a ISPARC grant of $1,000, dedicated for healthy living, to run the program at SCES. Hope said she had the choice of choosing to run a 13-week program with students running in the Sun Run, or the eight-week program. She ended up choosing the eight-week program as she didn’t feel comfortable having students run in the Sun Run.
The grant money went towards providing snacks for the kids (smoothies, seaweed treats, beef jerky, and fruit) and designing team shirts and water bottles for the those who participated in the program. The shirts were designed and printed by Kway Designs, which is owned by Jason Roberts.
According to its website, ISPAC “is a provincial organization established with the purpose of improving the health outcomes of Indigenous peoples by supporting and encouraging physically active individuals, families, and communities. The programs and services delivered by I·SPARC are designed to build capacity and increase access to sport, recreation, and physical activity in First Nations communities, Métis Chartered Communities, Aboriginal Friendship Centres, schools, and other delivery agencies throughout the province.”
Due to the length of training that the kids would need to commit to, Hope decided to offer the program to SCES Grade 5 and Grade 7 students. This was the first time that the run was held at SCES and Hope said that, thanks to the positive response the program received, she intends to host it again next year.
When asked, students said that the run was “tiring but good” and that they learned a lot about how fun running can be. The students also appreciated knowing that their hard work paid off and want others to know to “never give up” when facing huge obstacles.
“Thank you for everything,” said Raiya Tait to Hope. She is a Grade 6 student who participated in the run. “Thank you for supporting me and thank you for making this program. And thank you for cheering me on.”
