ARMY RUN HOT STUFF
21,000-plus take part
After a cool, wet summer, Ottawa has been basking in unseasonably balmy temperatures, but this weekend’s blast of heat and humidity had Canada Army Run organizers in a quandary.
When it appeared that temperatures might reach 29C on Sunday, organizers took to social media Saturday to warn participants cancellations might be possible and it would be advisable not to try for personal bests.
Late Saturday night, however, organizers declared all events “a go,” much to the relief of the 21,000-plus Army Run participants, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who started off the day in the 5K event.
“This is my third run, but it’s apparently the first time a prime minister has been in the Army Run and I’m very, very happy to be here,” Trudeau told the crowd. “It’s also a moment to recognize and celebrate our wounded warriors, those extraordinary men and women who serve the country with everything they have.”
Army Run features 5K, 10K and half marathons. Two new events were added this year: the Vimy Challenge to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, with participants running, walking or rolling over both five and 10 kilometres; and the Commander’s Challenge for those competing in both the 5K and the 21-kilometre half-marathon.
Those challenge events attracted more than 5,000 runners overall. Race director Maj. Gus Garant said both would be held again next year, with the 5K+10K event renamed the Ortona Challenge to commemorate the Battle of Ortona.
“A lot of people came here for long-distance (races),” said Jamie MacIntyre, the Ontario region representative of Soldier On, a Canadian Armed Forces program that helps serving members and veterans overcome illness or injury through sport. About 50 athletes with Soldier On from across Canada participated in the events this year. “It would be sad if they had cancelled,” MacIntyre said.
The average high temperature for this time of year in Ottawa is a little more than 19C. Sunday’s high of 28C nudged the record temperature of 30C set in 1942. However, heat and humidity — a humidex of 34 — didn’t fall into the “black flag ” category of the heat-stress index used to assesses the effects on the human body.
“I wasn’t used to this humidity, so I found it a little challenging when I had about seven kilometres left,” said Master Cpl. Justin Fulford of Victoria, who ran the half-marathon. “I just tried to use all the water stations. The overcast weather in the beginning helped. I was expecting worse. I didn’t see anyone falling. That’s a good sign.”
“I was in the Ottawa Marathon in May. It was about the same,” said Toronto’s Eddie So, a pace bunny in the 10K race.
Sophie Quan, a former logistics officer who suffered a stroke in 2012 at age 23, ran the 10K. She lives in Cold Lake, Alta., where there is already ice on the lake, and wasn’t expecting Ottawa’s hot weather. “This the first time in a year that I ran someplace really hot,” she said.
There was only a trickle of runners to the medical unit based in the Cartier Drill Hall. Last year, about seven runners were sent to hospital because of heat exhaustion and dehydration, medical team coordinator Karen Lawrence said.
“Based on volumes, people probably slowed down a bit. We put out some extra spray and mist stations.”