River Run celebrates 35 years

By MO CRANKER on June 17, 2019.

NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Runners take off during the five kilometre portion of the 35th annual River Run, Saturday, June 15, 2019. The event is held every year to raise money for the YMCA's programming.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker

Summer weekends in the Hat almost always include a long-distance running event – with the Cancarb River Run being a staple for 35 years in the community.

Runners and their supporters gathered at the Downtown YMCA Saturday morning for the annual run which featured three, five and 10 kilometre heats.

“The River Run raises money to support our Strong Kids campaign,”said YMCA CEO Sharon Hayward. “The River Run is something we know people look forward to every year and it’s a fun event.”

Around 170 runners took part in the event, raising around $15,000 for the campaign.

“It provides assistance for people in the community who might not be able to afford our programs,” said Hayward. “The program sends kids to camp, gets kids memberships to our programs and it also provides memberships for adults and seniors who otherwise couldn’t afford it.”

Hayward says 10-12 per cent of the YMCA’s total members receive funding help from the organization.

For the first time at the run there was a small relay course set up for people to compete in with a team of four.

“It’s just another fun thing we thought we’d try,” said Hayward. “It’s teams of four and we had a lot of people register for that.”