Pulling off the Tely 10

Event organizers have worked hard to put together the race for 90 years

Organizers of the 90th Tely 10 race were delighted to wake up on Sunday morning to ideal weather conditions. Unlike 2016’s humid race day, the weather was cooler and the wind was behind the runners as they took off down the course.

“It went as planned,” says Bob Walsh of the Newfoundland and Labrador Athletic Association. “We put a lot of work into making sure it goes off as planned.”

The race receives plenty of support from the RNC, emergency medical services and hundreds of volunteers as well as the co-operation of the three municipalities runners pass through.

The race, which for a long time was growing steadily in size, has remained steady at about 4,800 participants over the past two years.

“We’d love to see it continue to grow,” says Walsh.

Organizers are hoping to reach 5,000 entrants in the coming years.

Over the past two years, organizers have seen an increase in the number of people entering the race, but not collecting their bibs, with roughly 500 entrants not competing in the race this year.

While it is of concern that this number has increased significantly and is uncommon for the Tely 10, it follows a nationwide trend. The number of runners entering races but not collecting their bibs has gone up across Canada over the past two years.

“A lot of people have the best of intentions,” says Walsh, who recognizes there are many reasons why entrants end up unable to compete come race day, ranging from scheduling to injury.

Race organizers hope to continue to see the race grow within the community.

“It’s such a healthy lifestyle we’re continuing to promote,” says Walsh.

In his observation, training for the race has helped entrants to make healthy lifestyle changes toward being more active which, in addition to improving physical health, has been highly beneficial for many Tely 10 participants who suffer from anxiety and other mental health disorders.

“We’re always tinkering with it,” says Walsh, when asked what changes, if any, can be expected for next year’s race.

Next week, race organizers will have a final meeting to discuss what went right and what went wrong, and what can be changed for next year. Walsh expects there will be lots of changes behind the scenes, but few will be visible to the public.

“I want to give a big kudos to George Stanoev and Randy Ball,” says Walsh, the two men who worked tirelessly to put the race together this year. “I’m hoping everyone had a great time.”