Road race down Ouellette Avenue to benefit charity
Through the years, Ouellette Avenue has witnessed the occasional runner or two, but they’re usually in street clothes chasing after a bus.
Come May 19, the city’s main street will serve as the track for a one-mile road race that’s part of Windsor Athletics Fest.
The Mission Mile Road Race could see several hundred runners line up at the start on Ellis Street headed to the finish line due north on Park Street.
“Ouellette Avenue is the perfect venue,” organizer Gary Malloy said. “It’s a straight shot and it’s downhill with a view of the Detroit skyline.”
Malloy and fellow organizer Helen Vasilic were out drumming up interest along Ouellette on Wednesday.
Malloy noted that one-mile road races are quite popular in other cities. Last year’s Fifth Avenue Mile attracted more than 6,000 entries in New York City.
“One mile has kind of been the traditional distance in track and field,” Malloy said.
The top three male and female runners will be chasing after cash prizes. Proceeds from the event will go to the Downtown Mission.
The road race will take place at approximately 7 p.m., in between the women’s and men’s outdoor pole vault competition, held in the 300 block of Ouellette Avenue.
The Windsor Athletics Fest wraps up the next day, Saturday, with the Johnny Loaring Classic track and field meet at the University of Windsor.
The downtown events will be held in conjunction with Windsor’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
“There’s a community aspect to the road race,” Malloy said. ‘The whole point is trying to bring the sport to people.”
Anyone who runs in the Mission Mile gains free entry to the Loaring Classic by showing their race bib at the gates.
The University of Windsor Athletics Club rebranded the Windsor Open meet as the Loaring Classic, aiming to re-create the level of community interest Vancouver established with the Harry Jerome International Track Classic.
Vancouver annually attracts an elite field for the meet named after the city’s famous three-time Olympic sprinter.
Likewise, Windsor Athletics wants to share the story of Loaring, the city’s only Olympic track and field medal winner. He took silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1936 Berlin Games.
Registration for the Mission Mile can be found on the club’s website at www.uwindsorac.com.
There’s a community aspect to the road race. The whole point is trying to bring the sport to people.