After a pandemic-forced hiatus in 2020, the Martensville-Warman Regional Race returned last weekend with a bang.
About 70 participants walked, ran and biked a five or ten kilometer route between Martensville and Warman on Saturday, September 25, raising a total of $2,200 for the local KidSport charities along the way.
“The weather was beautiful, and that helped draw people out for the run,” said Martensville Program Coordinator Jamie McCulloch, one of the organizers of the event. “We thought it was a good turnout.”
While it’s called a race, it’s not about the competition, said McCulloch. It’s more about getting to know your neighbours.
“It’s really just a fun event that gets people outdoors and emphasizes how close the two cities are together geographically,” she said. “It’s something that brings everyone together socially too.”
Medals of participation were given out to those who completed the five and ten kilometer treks.
The trail included several kilometers of gravel-surface roads.
“Most of the feedback was very positive,” said McCulloch. “Although some people did complain that the gravel was a little hard to run on.”
McCulloch said organizers were pleased with the amount raised for the Martensville and Warman KidSport charities.
“We had a lot of donations,” she said. “Which is good, because every year the need seems to increase, and we get more applications every year.”
KidSport provides funding to families to help them pay the cost of registration for enrolling their kids in organized sports.
Earlier this year, the annual KidSport Playhouse raffle raised over $16,000 for the charity. McCulloch said on October 4, 5 and 6, the Martensville A&W is donating $2 from the sale of every Teen Burger to KidSport.
McCulloch said corporate sponsors provided funds to help organizers hold the event.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support of those sponsors,” she said.
McCulloch said she’s optimistic the Regional Race will get out of the starting blocks again in the autumn of 2022.
“We’re hoping to have it next year,” she said. “We want to take the success of this year’s event and run with it again.”