2015 was a year of many changes. Here is a rundown of what was new in 2015 and what’s new for 2016. Let’s get started!
| New in 2015 | Verdict | New for 2016 |
| Dirty Dog Dash | This was the first time we allowed dogs in the mud pit. Everyone loved it and we are keeping it! | At the Dirty Dash, we are switching the distances from 4k/8k to 3k/6k. |
| RememberRun 11 KM | We switched the longer distance (8 KM) to an 11 KM. It fits well with the concept and the season. Good feedback means we are keeping it! | Small tweak: we are moving from the aggressive REMEMBERrun name to the softer RememberRun. |
| Two BOWs | After one, single diverse Battle in 2014 and two specialized Battles in 2015, we are moving back to the 2014 model. | Read more about the diverse BOW IV. |
| Many, many miles | We introduced three targeted events: the Pancake Mile, the Runway and the Downtown Kitchener Mile. They all have bright futures in 2016: we’re keeping them! | All of these events will continue to expand and gain new audiences in 2016. The Runway is the third stage in BOW IV. |
| And who could forget the venue changes to our two premiere events due to LRT construction and detour routes. | ||
| Waterloo 10KM Classic | We moved to Resurrection CSS in Kitchener. We loved the venue, but the proper home for this event is University Stadium. This year, we’re moving back! | Along with the new courses (yet to be announced,) we are happy to announce a new charitable partner: Extend-A-Family! |
| Oktoberfest Run | This event moved from it’s great home at Conestoga Mall/Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex to a new route from Westvale PS to Waterloo Park. The King Street descent will be missed, because overwhelming support for the new 2015 course means that we’re keeping it! This course is legitimately one of the fastest 5 KMs that we know of. | It is so fast that we are experimenting with a new name: Octoberfast Run. What do you think? We are also moving the event back one week, so that it is not the same date as the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Yay! |
What else is new for 2016?
– Our events are reclassified as Waterloo Running Series, Run For The Fun Of It, The ENDURrun
– Our exciting new partnership with Your Neighbourhood Credit Union
– Doubled prize money across more events than ever before
– A “new” trail race: Kitchener Kids with Cancer Run
– The Laurier Loop is moving to March
– Our events have a new discount and fee structure
One other change is our move to a streamlined awards presentation. We plan to have a short, high-value presentation for charity prizes, feature draw prizes and overall awards. As soon as results are official, we intend to distribute all other medals and draw prizes at a dedicated table, without a lengthy presentation. This is new for our events and will be tweaked over the course of the winter and spring.
That’s a lot of changes and improvements. Which is your favourite?
3 Comments
I love the change of weekend for the Oktober”fast” run. However, that does put it on Thanksgiving weekend doesn’t it? I like how it doesn’t conflict with the Scotia Toronto.
We moved one week later into October, so now it is two weeks after Thanksgiving. Glad you like it!
Happy about the news on the Waterloo Classic and the Oktoberfest run 🙂
I really enjoyed the 11k for the RememberRun.
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