All posts tagged with: run

Under cloudy skies and cool summer morning temperatures, over 400 participants turned out this morning to participate in the 8^th annual Vancouver Pride Run. The 10km walk and 5km run brings out active members of LGBT community to warm-up for the upcoming Vancouver Pride Week events.

The two-lap 10km race course through Stanley Park takes participants through the park and along the scenic seawall.  Walkers do a shorter single-lap.

The event attracts participants from Vancouver’s running community, members of Vancouver Frontrunners, Canada’s largest and longest-operating LGBT running club, and members of Frontrunner clubs in Washington and Oregon State.

Organizers were extremely happy with this year’s turn out and participation by event sponsors, volunteers and influencers from the local community.

According to the BC Cancer Foundation, an estimated 48% of all cancers diagnosed in British Columbia are below the waist, and are responsible for approximately 40% of cancer deaths in the province.

On Saturday, July 7, 2012, hundreds of men and women will participate in a 10km run or 5km walk in the hottest race in Vancouver to raise funds and awareness for cancers below the waist, the 6^th Annual Underwear Affair.

This Wednesday, April 18 is Awareness to Down There-ness Day and the BC Cancer Foundation’s Underwear Affair is encouraging people to sign-up to participate in the event and to attend the 2012 kick-off party from 6-9pm at Forum Public House at 1163 Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.

Proceeds from the Underwear Affair will support research into cancers below the belt including prostate, colorectal, ovarian, bladder, cervical, and testicular.

PS… it’s totally cool if you show up in your underwear!

Photo Credit: Anne Hales

This Saturday, March 17, 2012, visitors to Vancouver’s Stanley Park will have to look twice to see if they are seeing Leprechauns or some of the 1,500 race participants in the annual BMO St. Patrick’s Day 5K race.

Photo Credit: Christine Papau

This year there is a new race route through Stanley Park; and it is flat and fast! The race get started at 10:00am sharp at the Stanley Park Pavilion. Participants are encouraged to dress up to compete for best-costume prizes. This race is #3 in the lower mainland Road Race Series for the BC 5k Championships and there is prize money up-for-grabs for the top three finishers in each race category.

Photo Credit: Richard Coulthard

After the race, participants, friends and spectators are welcome to join the St. Patrick’s Day party. There will be green beer, food and other refreshments, music and a souvenir glass for the first 800 race participants. The bar will be open, so remember to bring some loot.

Registration is now full for this race. Package pick-up is this Thursday and Friday at the Running Room on Denman Street. On race-day there is bag check at the course with proceeds going to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Spectators, friends, family and the community are encouraged to line the edge of the race route to cheer on participants.

For more information visit the St. Patrick’s Day 5K race website.

Photo: Contributed by TC10K

Registration is now open for the 2012 TC10K. At 8:00am, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 14,000 people will run or walk the new 10km course in Victoria, British Columbia.

The route starts at Government and Belleville, heading north on Government/Wharf to Johnson, east on Johnson, south on Vancouver, east on Richardson, south on Moss, east on May, south on Memorial to Dallas Rd. The course then continues on Dallas, following the former route, finishing in front of the Legislative Building.

Package Pickup will take place at the Delta Ocean Pointe Hotel and Spa on Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28.  Race-day package pickup will only be available for out-of-town competitors.

The Thrifty Foods 1.5K Family Run will also have a new route. Kids will line up on Government and Belleville and run to Superior, turning right onto Oswego and right onto Belleville finishing in front of the Legislative Building.

For more information and to register, visit the TC10K website.

In just 100 days, on Sunday, May 6, 2012, the gun will go off and 5,000 full marathon and 10,000 half marathon runners set off on their journeys to conquer their brand new courses at the 41^st annual BMO Vancouver Marathon. The word on the street this morning is that the full marathon is already 70% sold out… so if you’re training hard, make sure you register now before space is gone.

Are you waffling if you should register or not? Show your friends, family and co-workers how much you want to run in this year’s race by challenging them to registering with you as a group for the I ♥ Run Van Contest. On Tuesday, February 14, the group with the most registered participants will win a special gift package.

Still not convinced? Forbes Magazine has named the BMO Vancouver Marathon one of the top 10 marathon races in the world!

What are you waiting for? There’s still time to register, train and to get to the start line.

While the athletes are competing in various competitions and events for the 2011 North America Outgames, FrontRunners, a local LGBT friendly running group, has organized a 10km Pride Run at 9:00am Saturday, July 31.

The Pride Run is a 10km run and 4km walk starting at Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park. The event will start off with a warm-up and the singing of the anthem. There are water stations located along the race route.

All participants are eligible for door prizes and those registered with the Outgames also receive age category medals for the top three placings.

Participants should arrive before 8:30am for check-in. Restrooms, gear check and food vendors are all located at the start/finish line.

Register online.

Time to dust off your running shoes! The organizers of the Vancouver Underwear Affair want to ensure Vancouverites are primed and ready to go on race day, so they are hosting a pre-race 5km training run on Saturday, June 25 from 10:45am – 12:00pm in Stanley Park.

Participants of the BC Cancer Foundation’s Underwear Affair are invited to test their costumes, rally community spirit and stretch their legs.

Following the 5km training run there will be drinks, treats and fundraising tips from the Underwear Support team.

For more information, visit their website.

Photo contributed

This Sunday, June 19, 2011 is Father’s Day and avid marathon runner, member of the Lions Gate Road Runners and Vancouver author, Andre Gerard, has organized a 3km Fathers Day run at Jericho Beach in Vancouver, BC. There is no registration fee for this event, however, donations are being accepted for the Arthritis Society, BC & Yukon Division.

Registration for the fun run begins at 9:30am at Jericho Sailing Centre.

He adds, “I liked the idea of holding a kid friendly walk – it will be 3km’s through the woods at Jericho, the Lions Gate Road Runner’s ‘Gunner Shaw’ Loop, which is very fitting since the book is also dedicated to the memory of Gunner, a close running friend of mine, and a caring father.”

The event will be coupled with a launch of his new book, Fathers: A Literary Anthology.

“On an individual level, Fathers: A Literary Anthology is a manual for all children trying to understand and improve their relationship with their father,” said Andre. ‘Fathers is also a powerful tool for fathers—fathers young or fathers old—to improve themselves.”

Former Vancouver-based actor Charlie Bewley, best known for his role as Demetri in the Twilight film saga, will be running in the 2011 BMO Vancouver Marathon. Bewley will be facing his biggest running challenge to-date. In honour of his friend Jocelyn Clarke, who passed away February 14, 2011 at the age of 36, Bewley has set a goal to run a distance equal to one and a half marathons (over 60 KM) at one time.

Bewley has been an avid runner since he moved to Vancouver four years ago. He started out running just 25 minutes per day along the seawall and gradually built up to running a full hour.

“I was 30 pounds lighter after just two months,” exclaimed Bewley. “I was inspired by the shorelines, the runs, lifestyle and fresh air.”

As part of his Run for your Life campaign, Bewley will complete a 21.1km (Half Marathon) warm-up and then take his place at the start line along with 4,200 other runners in the Full Marathon on Sunday, May 1, 2011. He is determined to make it on behalf of his friend, Jocelyn.

“I will be using some very low impact and efficient running styles,” as Bewley explained how he has been training for the event and the various techniques he is learning to complete his challenge.

“I have never ran professionally,” said Bewley. “It’s about digging deep. People can be inspired to push yourself as a human being.

Bewley has wanted to do this challenge since learning of Jocelyn’s rare and terminal lung cancer early in 2010.

“To see someone with such radiance and vitality go through what she went through will stay with me forever. To say that she ‘lost her battle with cancer’ would do a huge disservice to the incredible strength she showed during the course of her treatment.”

“It’s still very raw for me” explained Bewley. Today, Bewley is focused on running and raising money to donate to those responsible for treating her illness so others may be given the opportunity to fight as Jocelyn did.

Bewley first met Clarke on a bus in North Vancouver on his way to an audition two years ago.  The next time he met her was on the set of “Twilight Saga: New Moon” where she was doubling for actress Dakota Fanning.  That’s when their friendship was solidified.

“We enjoyed each other’s company when it serendipitously occurred,” recalls Bewley. “Jocelyn will always hold a place in me and I shall miss her.”

“We commend Charlie Bewley for his compassionate fundraising efforts and wish him well in his Run for Your Life,” said Joanne Gassman, Senior Vice President, BMO Bank of Montreal, BC Division. “All the employees at BMO Financial Group in British Columbia are pleased to be associated with such a healthy event that crosses all age categories and promotes good community spirit,” added Gassman.

With 13 more days to go, registration numbers have broken record numbers. Registration has gone so well that the half-marathon has now sold out!

“We expected to reach the Half Marathon cap,” says Cathy Noel, General Manager. “The half marathon distance is the fastest growing in North America so we are following a very popular trend. To see a record number of registrations with 13 days to go proves the popularity of our event, and it is likely that we will see another surge before race day.”

There are still spaces available in the full marathon and 8k race categories. Registration fees are $130 for the Marathon and $45 for the 8K Road Race.

For more information and to register, visit the Victoria Marathon website.