In Morden, children have been donning their lucky running shoes for an event that is quickly becoming a treasured tradition — The Western Run.
From two schools to five
The cross-country event, established four years ago, initially began as a friendly competition between two schools, Minnewasta School and Maple Leaf School.
This year, the race saw a new scale.
“We used to host it at Morden Park, and [it] just kind of started getting bigger and bigger, [so] this year, we decided collectively to do it as the Western School Division instead of just the two elementary schools,” says Kyle Turnbull, who teaches Phys. Ed. at Minnewasta School in Morden and coaches the cross-country team. “We call it the Western Run.”
This year, École Discovery Trails and École Morden Middle School participated in the event as well as a school from outside the community, Winkler Elementary School.
“I think altogether we had just over 100 students,” says Turnbull, adding that the race took place at the Minnewasta Golf & Country Club. “It went extremely well. We had great weather . . . . We were impressed [by the numbers, too].”
The race grounds featured a 2-kilometre track for the younger children and a 3-kilometre track for the grade sevens and eights.
The race day
The day of the race began with an optional walk of the course, during which families were invited to walk the route together to get to know it. Turnbull says that about 50 walkers were present at this time.
At 10:30 a.m., the classes of races began in two-grade groups in 30-minute increments beginning with the grades three and four females all the way up to the grades seven and eight groups.
“We had a nice flagged finish line [which] participants and family members . . . surrounded, cheering them on as they ran in,” says Turnbull. “The runners received a popsicle stick with their placement on it, and then would meet with the coach [to] record the results.”
The event was made possible by volunteers placed around the route at various points.
“We had volunteers spread out throughout the 2- and 3-kilometre course, just guiding runners if there was a turn in the course or a junction where they might get confused and go the wrong way,” says Turnbull. “We provided coffee and hot chocolate to the volunteers to keep everybody warm. It was a great day.”
The largest group of participants in the Western Run were from the lower grades.
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“The bulk of our participants were grade threes and fours. The grade fives and sixes had a good turnout as well, but I think it's a little tougher keeping the older ones engaged and getting the numbers,” says Turnbull. “Middle school has a lot more opportunities for soccer and volleyball and [so on], whereas for the elementary schools, it's cross-country and that's it.”
Cross-country fun
Turnbull says that his students were consistent in preparing for the race even as they attended others in the region.
“Our students continued to come out twice a week and practice at school,” he says. “We attended two other cross-country races this year. We went to the Milk Run in Winnipeg, which was very well run, [and] Maple Leaf School hosted their own race at Stanley Park this year,” he says. “It's just a great sport to get kids involved as soon as the school year starts. [There’s] minimal equipment — they can come in really whatever footwear they have and get out to get some exercise before the snow comes.”
Turnbull says that the mild autumn has helped the Western Run in a few ways, including creating comfortable temperatures for practices. The pleasant weather also made for the perfect venue for the run.
“We were quite lucky this year. The golf course was in beautiful shape. It was nice and dry. There were no safety concerns or water hazards or anything to deal with,” says Turnbull. “I’m glad I could be a part of it and hopefully we can do it all again next year.”
A friendly meeting
For Turnbull, as different schools become involved in the run, camaraderie becomes more and more evident.
“[It] gives the kids another chance to race against some peers their own age, because a lot of the cross-country runners may not necessarily be hockey players or baseball players, so other than their friend group at school, they're not really experiencing a whole lot of different peer groups,” he says. “It was nice to see the sportsmanship — a lot of high fives regardless of the school they were at. I'm sure some friends were made. I think they're excited to be on board for the future as well. It'll be nice to see just how much bigger we can grow the program.”
See the photo gallery below to catch a glimpse of The Western Run.
~With files from Robyn Wiebe~
