Sun Run teams bring families, firms and friends closer together

Participants can work on health and fitness goals

One of the first things Max Sulimov did when he started his new job was to find out whether there is a Vancouver Sun Run team inhouse.

An avid runner, Sulimov had completed two of the 10-kilometre races before joining KPMG. Next time, he wants to do it with colleagues.

“The moment I joined in 2014, I knew I wanted to be on the team,” said the 28-year-old associate. “It was one of the first questions I asked.”

That year, he ran as part of the KPMG team.

This year, he took over the reins as team captain and will start gearing up for the 2018 race in January, hoping to surpass this year’s 60 participants.

The Sun Run is a great option for people who want to work on their health and fitness goals because it’s “challenging but realistic enough to accomplish,” said Sulimov.

Participating in a group also holds people accountable, offers a support system, and builds friendship and camaraderie. In the new year, the team will hold training runs in the morning, lunch time and after work to cater to people’s different schedules, taking advantage of their workplace’s downtown location by running along the scenic seawall or in Stanley Park.

The KPMG team, which has placed first in the legal/accounting category for the last four years, is just one of the 1,090 teams in the Vancouver Sun Run’s Canadian Western Bank Team Division, which last year drew close to 22,000 people.

Two years ago, run organizers introduced the “friends and family”

category in the Corporate Team division to encourage groups of friends or family members to form their own team. This year, the term “corporate” was dropped in order to make it more inclusive.

Ryusuke Kubo formed Fun Van Run two years ago, a group of about a dozen friends from Japan or who have Japanese roots, who run together twice a week.

Some members, like Kubo, are marathon runners who do more intensive training on their own. But in Fun Van Run, running isn’t the priority.

“The team has a policy of not getting too serious about running, especially when we run together,” he said with a laugh.

The team’s training runs at either the False Creek seawall or Pacific Spirit Park trails are “relaxing runs” for Kubo. He is in it for the social perks, a chance to chat, run, then grab a bite or drinks with friends.

Doing the Sun Run together helps keep their friendships in tip-top shape, he said: “It’s an important event for us.”

For the KPMG team, the Sun Run is a way for participants to build stronger relationships with their colleagues and their company, said Sulimov.

“When we go out we represent the firm, that makes us feel more bonded together.”

But equally rewarding is the knowledge that KPMG is just one of hundreds of firms running in the Sun Run and is part of a greater community too, he added.

“It’s like multi-layered community bonding.”

Registration is open now for the 2018 Sun Run. Minimum team size is 10 people.

The early bird deadline is Feb.

9. Final team deadline is March

23.