The Defiance Running Club in Wallaceburg is holding their 3rd annual WAMBO River Run on Saturday, August 8, 2015.
Mark Childs, president of the club, said the event is not just for runners.
“Walkers are welcome,” he said. “This is our one big run of the year for Wallaceburg and we encourage everybody in Wallaceburg to come out and participate. Bring your friends, grab family members, grab a stroller, bring the kids. It is a very fun family oriented event. Lots of goodies afterwards. Free coffee for anyone that shows up. Runners or people who are just there to watch. It’s truly a well run event and people shouldn’t miss out on it. Give it a try.”
The event features a 5K walk, 5K run, 10K run and a new wheelchair, stroller and assisted runners division.
“I believe we are the first run to do this locally,” Childs said.
The route begins at Steinhoff Park in Wallaceburg and follows the Sydenham River out to North River Line, to Richardson Line for the 10K and just where the pavement ends is the 5K turnaround.
“Honestly there are probably a lot of locals that never go out there,” Childs said. “It is a beautiful road. Lots of docks and boats in the water. First thing in the morning, it’s a beautiful place to go for a run.”
Cost to participate in the run is $35, with all the proceeds going towards the Defiance Youth Program.
“It’s a county-wide running program that runs for eight weeks,” Childs said. “It has been in the fall, but we are moving the program to the spring. Last year we had over 3,000 participants and we are hoping to grow into 6,000 this year.”
Childs added: “The program is designed as a stepping stone to get kids involved in any form of physical activity. It is designed to show them that anybody can participate in the simplest program. A running program is about as simple as it gets. You don’t require and equipment, you don’t require any special training. you just have to learn to stretch and have a pair of shoes and you are good to go.
“By getting kids who normally may not do anything involved, it’s a tool for them to move forward. Maybe they will play soccer, maybe baseball, maybe they will continue running. We have had children in the program that were in the first year that have followed us and come back to the program because they like what we do.”
Childs said the Defiance Running Club is happy to piggyback on Wallaceburg’s biggest event.
“We think this is a wonderful thing for us, we feel we are helping WAMBO,” Childs said. “All those people that come, it’s right on our site that one of the beautiful things about our run is that WAMBO is a stones throw away as soon as the run is over. Our run gets done at 10 a.m. Everybody is done and leaving the park and that is about the time WAMBO gets going so its a perfect combination. It’s nice to have those extras to draw people to your run and having WAMBO as our backbone is huge.”
People can register at http://defiancerunningclub.ca/ and if they do so before July 31, they will receive a t-shirt and a goodie bag. Registration will be taking place the morning of the event as well. The run is also a part of the C-K Running Series.
– Nathan Vercauteren File Photo
