What a frosty and fun first race of the 2026 season, this morning at the 28th Annual Re-Fridgee-Eighter (which just so happened to land on 2/8!)
Even though we had the sun shining, we experienced our coldest race to date, with the start temp sitting at a chilly -22C. It warms our heart to see so many runners brave the record cold and come out to join us at University Stadium in Waterloo, debuting brand new courses this year for the 8 mile, 5k, and 1.88k fun run. While we get participants of all ages and abilities, running or walking different distances at different speeds, one thing that you all share in common is the dedication to lacing up your running shoes in the winter, proving that you’re tougher than the frigid temperatures and snowy conditions. Your grit and never quit gives us chills. Well done to all! Here are the race results:
Since the fridge medal with the opening door was such a hit last year, we knew we had to bring it back again this year for some more fridgey fun. We hope you love your refrigerator snow globe medal, which we feel captures the spirit of this season where we have been snowed in, snowed on, and snowed out all winter long. But while this record snowfall may have slowed us down a bit, it hasn’t stopped us from hitting the roads and trails, getting our steps in, clocking that PB, or connecting with our running community, and you proved that today. Too cool!
The first 600 of 2,000 race photos are up. Participants will be notified on each upload.
Thanks to everyone who bundled up and joined us today, whether to participate or volunteer. As always, we couldn’t do what we do without our generous community sponsors or our invaluable race crew. If you enjoyed today’s run, good news: we’re just getting started. Check out our website for more information on all the perks of RW membership, as well as our upcoming event calendar, next up of which is the fast Cone5togo, coming up next month on March 7. Hope to see you there, and until then, keep warm, keep safe, and keep that refrigerator running!
