A group of Okotokians is lacing up for the Alberta Children's Hospital.
The Mermaids Who Run/Walk for Kids is one of many teams participating in this year's Million Reasons Run, a month-long annual campaign that raises funds for the 13 children's hospitals across Canada.
The team was formed by Rae-Lynne Byerley, who joined the run last year in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital and recruited new members this year.
She began running as a way to give back to the hospital after the care it provided for her family when her son Kolton was diagnosed a few years ago.
"On May 4th, 2022, my son went in the hospital and it took him over six weeks to come back out. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He had emergency surgery the next day, and our lives really got flipped upside down," Byereley said. "That's one of the reasons why I have great admiration for the children's hospital... I think that's the biggest thing is that I want to give back to the Children's because they've given us so much."
She's joined by Sarah Lawrence, Tammy Trask, Ale Styles, and Kolton's dog, Orca.
Last year, Rae-Lynne, Sarah, and Orca raised $4,000, and the team has already brought in over $3,300 this time around.
Each team member has set a distance goal, and they’re well on their way to reaching them.
They ran close to 125 kilometres last year, and with new members on board, they’re aiming to more than double that.
Byerley hopes to see the team continue to grow and encourages anyone interested to reach out.
"Anyone can join us, and we would appreciate it. There may even be other runners in town and we don't even know it, and we'd love to get together and chat about why we're doing this and different things like that, and be able to support each other."
More than anything, she's glad to see people showing support for children's hospitals.
"I think a big thing is awareness of what the children's hospitals, not just ours, but all of the children's hospitals across Canada, are doing for our children."