And they’ll have fun, fun, fun.
“It’s all about fun,” said Chemainus Business Improvement Association’s Chris Istace as he directed the 233 participants at the start of the first-ever Chemainus 5K Family Fun Pumpkin Spice Run Saturday.
The event lived up to its billing, with boys and girls, men and women joining together on a beautiful morning along the Trans-Canada Trail and downtown streets leading to the finish line at Waterwheel Park.
“We’re thrilled with how well the fun run went,” noted CBIA coordinator Shelley Johnstone. “We had a great turnout and lucked out with the gorgeous November sun. It was wonderful to see the community come together for some active fun in support of Cowichan Neighbourhood House. I loved seeing the participants of all ages come out for this fun run.”
One participant was even celebrating her first birthday.
“We are so grateful to all of the volunteers who showed up bright and early to give their time to help the event run smoothly and safely,” added Johnstone.
“We had incredible business support, from sponsorships, donating food for the after-party, offering participants special deals that day, to donating draw prizes. This really adds to the success of the event.”
Johnstone noted she’s received emails and loads of comments on Facebook from happy participants about how much they enjoyed it and how well the event was organized.
Some ran fast, some rather quickly, some at medium speed, some at a slow jog and others walked. It was all dependent on what participants wanted to do.
No official times were kept for everyone, but the first across the finish line was Hannah Jones in a sizzling 21 minutes and 15 seconds.
“It was awesome, really fun, really well-organized,” said Jones. “Good prizes and great scenery. It’s a real nice trail run.”
Jones just recently won the Live It Up 8K in Parksville.
Anthony Atchison was the first man to finish around the 25-minute mark according to the self-timing on his watch. Alexander Amini, 11, stormed in as the fastest youth.
“We’ll be announcing the amount of money the event raised in the coming weeks,” Johnstone indicated. “Lots of number crunching to be done.”
It’s always tough to make sure all the details are in place for an inaugural event, but the BIA definitely has a winner here. “I’m proud of how it all turned out,” Johnstone conceded.
