Hope’s first 10 km Run was very hopeful — no pun intended.
After a winter of non-stop colds and many couch-potato hours, I was definitely not ready for this. A brisk 5 km walk would have been just about right.
But run, we did — and limp along out of breath, I did. How could I miss the first-ever 10 km run held in Hope?
Well-wishers welcomed the runners from near and far — Mark Strahl, MP for Chilliwack Hope; Wilfried Vicktor, Hope Mayor; Lloyd Forman, Chamber of Commerce president; Rhoda Peters, Chief of the Chawathil First Nation; Dennis Adamson, Area B director for the Fraser Valley Regional District and singer Kiel Magis started off the event — then the crowd of runners took off through Memorial Park.
Working their way up Water Avenue to Old Hope Princeton Way, I joined in towards the back of the 10-km group. I overheard one runner tell his friend to “take a picture of me and send it to 911,” followed by laughter all around. This part of the pack sure was fun.
I passed two women, one running on her prosthestic leg. The two chatted and didn’t seem at all out of breath. I was inspired.
One man stood out in the crowd as he dipped and swayed between spectators and runners, snapping photos and grinning from ear to ear.
At first glance, he looked like a very big fan of First Blood who was here to take in the sights, wearing a Rambo t-shirt to boot. Turns out it was Gord Kurenoff, a running nut whose words grace the pages of our friendly competition The Vancouver Sun.
.@HopeBCChamber @RunningRoom The inaugural Hope 10K and 5K road races were held early Sunday morning and, yes, I paid tribute to Rambo from the back of the speedy pack! My photo recap of a great day https://t.co/NRBKOuHjUk pic.twitter.com/JY5NBrWlvx
— Gord Kurenoff (@Ohgord) March 18, 2018
Once the race left downtown, the cheers grew silent and the spectators few and far between.
Seeing some more sign-wavers and supporters would have spurred me to run a bit faster, or at least that’s what I’m blaming my sad finishing time on.
Then when I thought we’d been completely abandoned by well-wishers, three heads stuck out of a car waving neon signs.
Zooming past them at break-neck speed, I had to slow down to catch the writing. Mom Susan Wagner held a sign that read “Hurry up, we’re hungry!” Her two daughters each had their own signs that read “Don’t look now…but there’s a sasquatch behind you!” and my personal favourite “Run like there’s a hot guy at the finish line.”
The three cheered their heads off, then came around to the finish line to continue cheering runners at the bitter end.
Another car passed me at the seven-kilometre mark, just as things were feeling impossible. They too became my impromptu cheer squad.
Looping through the Thacker Regional Park trail, I emerged back onto the pavement and there they were again. They told me I was slowly gaining on the competition.
Something to believe in.
One runner who actually had her own cheer squad was 10 km competitor Shayla Ross. Two days earlier she gave more than a dozen haircuts to raise money for the Hope Food Bank.
That’s where partial proceeds from the run will go too.
Ross’s cheer squad followed her progress closely: a car full of family members and friends, coffee cups in hand, would magically appear at various stages of the course.
On we went, back through the bike park and back onto the pavement.
Wendy Jordan-Olive and her dog Taz quickly took up ahead of me, he looked like he’d done this before.
Back onto Wallace Street and through Memorial Park, Taz was still a few paces ahead of me all the way to the finish line.
As we weary runners finally came to a stop, a heavy medal, designed by race organizer Paul Stock, was hung around our necks. MC David Mawhinney welcomed runners back to the park by name.
Completed the Hope 5km run today. Check out my new medal! #hope10km #running #itsallaboutthebling pic.twitter.com/QKd8Dgpfh4
— Mrs. Drew (@mrsdrew116) March 19, 2018
Then came a rousing performance by a full troupe of Korean-Canadian percussionists from the Cheondoog Performing Arts Society. It was a colourful bang of an ending to the event.
Winners of the 10K were both from out of town. They agreed the course was a fun one because of the change from pavement to trail as the 10-km run snaked twice through the bike park and one quick loop through Thacker Regional Park.
Care Nelson of Victoria finished first with a time of 39:45 and runner-up was Gabe Begin of Burnaby with a time of 41:10. The first Hope residents to finish the 10K were Dave Murphy (42:21) and Justin Kelly (44:07).
The 5-km winner was Dora Velazquez of Surrey (21:29); second was Umer Shahid of Rosedale (24:24)
In total 256 runners crossed the finish line; 178 in the 10K and 78 in the 5K. A couple of dogs also completed the race, including Taz, who beat my time by one second. Remember, this wasn’t his first rodeo.
Mark Strahl said the list of run sponsors read like the directory of the local chamber of commerce.
Add to that the volunteers who came out to point runners in the right direction, keep traffic out of the way and keep them safe, including a crew of a half dozen Hope Search and Rescue members, making it a strong display of community support.
Not to mention run organizer Paul Stock, who more than likely is catching up on sleep after pulling off an event of this size.
The Hope 10 km Run is sure to draw a growing crowd of runners to our town each year. Let’s hope the community also comes out in droves to inspire them to reach the finish line.
Editor Emelie Peacock usually sticks to writing about everything but sports, because she knows what’s good for her.
Possibly still on a runner’s high from completing the Hope 10 KM Run Sunday, she couldn’t help but share her thoughts.
