It’s been a long two years, but we are thrilled to be back at it!
Despite sub-optimal temperatures, we can’t think of a better way to have spent a sunny morning in February than by reconnecting with 350 of our closest Run Waterloo friends. Whether you were racing, walking, volunteering, or cheering, we are so thankful to have you in our corner and at our first in-person event since the 2020 edition of the Re-Fridgee-Eighter.
Whether participants were rust-busting to the extreme, new to the sport of road racing, or had stayed fit for months with no races in sight – everyone had an opportunity to take a deep breath of the -16°C air and enjoy the camaraderie of our wonderful sport.
Thousands of photos are available at our Flickr page and finish line video is available in the results. Some highlights from those results:
– Krista DuChene returned to break her own masters female record in the 8 mile by over 90 seconds
– John McLean won the 8 km event and in doing so set a new masters male record, being the first man over 40 to run faster than 27 minutes at this race
– Team Fox & Whale, Jessica Kuepfer and Mark Cullen, took a whopping 9 minutes off the previous Sweetheart record in the 8 km, with a combined time of 1:00:09 (average of 30:05 each)
– Royce Madigan (with a stroller!) and Haiden Robb both set new 3 km open records
We don’t want to talk too much about COVID-19, but it loom large over the event. Lots can be learned from what we did and we are happy to share.
In the end, we consider it a great success, with strong reviews from our partners and participants alike. We put an enormous amount of work into developing and updating a dedicated safety plan through the Omicron surge and in the end, took more precautions than were strictly necessary. In large part, participants were happy to put up with what we would consider inconveniences – no food, no race-day awards, masked start corral – if it meant an opportunity to race that felt (and was) safe.
The most critical factor was that from the start, we offered a self-assessment deferral with no questions asked. We knew that this was not only the right approach for the participants, but the community as a whole. Perhaps we took a risk, but it worked out very well.
What does this mean for Run Waterloo in 2023? We are encouraged by this outcome and plan to launch a full calendar of events. We are taking what we have learned and improving it daily to make sure that our events respond to the latest data, recommendations, and realities. If there is anything we have learned, things change fast and we can too.
We’re back, thanks to your patience and belief in us. And don’t forget our corporate partners, without whom we literally couldn’t have made it to the start line. Thank you!
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 Elmira & Elora |
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