ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!
Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is just the tip of the iceberg for local running events. Whether you don shorts or a kilt, there’s a race for you. Here’s a list from Mark Sutcliffe.
ULTIMATE RUN FOR MEN’S CANCERS What: 5K, 10K, 15K When: June 15, 7 a.m. Where: Canada Aviation Museum Who is expected: Almost 1,000 fundraisers
Why: Celebrate Father’s Day by helping fight cancer Over 15 years, the Ultimate Run has raised $3.4 million for local cancer research and care. It’s not just a race, but a celebration of cancer victims and survivors. Last year, Team Greggybear, founded by late CFRA host Greg Hebert, raised more than $100,000. This year the course is along Rockcliffe Parkway.
EMILIE’S RUN
What: Women-only 5K, half-marathon and kids’ race When: June 21, 9 a.m. Where: Canada Aviation Museum
Who is expected: 625 women Why: A scenic course with no men allowed Women’s running advocate Ken Parker founded Emilie’s Run so there would be a 5K in which elite women would compete for the overall win rather than finish among the men’s leaders. But the event also welcomes women of all speeds and recently added a half-marathon. The race is along the scenic Rockcliffe Parkway and is named after Canadian Olympian Emilie Mondor, who was a twotime Canadian champion at 5,000 metres and passed away in 2006. PERTH’S WORLD RECORD KILT RUN What: 8K, plus a Warrior Class option involving tasks, and a kids’ race When: June 21, 6:15 p.m. Where: Perth Who is expected: More than 2,000 people in kilts
Why: Along with joining what looks like a scene from Braveheart, you can help raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada It’s a chance to do two things you’ve probably never attempted: run eight kilometres wearing a kilt and set a world record. The Kilt Run was supposed to be a one-time race in 2010, but it was so successful that organizers have made it an annual event. Perth has twice broken the Guinness World Record for kilt-run participation. But officials in Perth, Scotland, have been mounting their own attempt at the record, so the Canadian version is trying to increase its numbers to protect its status as the largest in the world. CANADA DAY ROAD RACES What: 5K, 10K and kids’ races When: July 1, 8 a.m. Where: Earl of March High School, Kanata
Who is expected: Hundreds of patriots
Why: Start the day by running in red and white One of the running events that’s been around the longest in Ottawa, the Canada Day Road Races are now in their 28th year. Before heading off to celebrate the country’s birthday, runners can race through the streets of Kanata. The events are spread out through the morning so that parents can do the 10K and then run with their kids in the 1.5K or 100-metre tot trot. NO FRILLS 10- MILE ROAD RACE What: 10-mile (16K), 5K When: July 16, 6:30 p.m. Where: Central Experimental Farm Who is expected: Runners who like to keep it simple
Why: A challenging distance for a reasonable cost Intended as an antidote to races with rising fees and fancy extra features, the No Frills has a reputation for being simple and affordable. It’s run on closed roadways at the Central Experimental Farm on a Wednesday evening and proceeds go to Friends of the Farm. A few years ago, the Cowpattie Relay was added, allowing teams of two or three to split up the 10-mile distance (no actual cow patties are involved). GREAT RAISIN RIVER FOOTRACE What: 5K, 11K When: Aug. 10, 8:30 a.m. Where: Williamstown Who is expected: 500 runners with a sense of history
Why: Run with amazing octogenarian Ed Whitlock Now 35 years old, the Great Raisin River Foot Race is billed as a fun event on country roads and along the river in Williamstown, just east of Cornwall. This year the 11K race is being renamed after Ed Whitlock, who has set countless age-group world records for the marathon and halfmarathon in his 60s, 70s and 80s.
THE GLEN TAY BLOCK RACE What: 14.7K When: Aug. 28, 6 p.m. Where: Perth
Who is expected: One hundred-plus runners who don’t mind unusual distances
Why: Run one of the oldest races (and most unusual distances) in Canada The Glen Tay Block Race was originally organized in 1907 as a 9.1-mile race. It was revived in 1967 as a centennial project and has been run every year since. Starting and finishing at the Perth Museum, the race is a giant rectangle and the epitome of an enjoyable small-town event.
THE CANADIAN
What: 3K, 8K, half-marathon, marathon and kids’ race When: Aug. 30, morning and evening Where: Mooney’s Bay
Who is expected: 250 runners, hundreds of triathletes
Why: A nice late-summer run on a loop course The Canadian gives runners the chance to join the course of an irondistance triathlon that’s being held at the same time. You can run the 3K or 8K in the morning or have the rare experience of running a half-marathon or marathon as the sun goes down. The course is a 5.3-km loop that halfmarathoners travel four times and marathoners eight.