There鈥檚 a double meaning to the term 鈥渞unning the TC 10K鈥� as dozens of guests noticed during Thursday evening鈥檚 VIP Partner Celebration at Yates Street Taphouse honouring volunteers and sponsors.
While lacing up and hitting the Belleville Street pavement this morning for the big race is a significant feat for thousands of runners, rollers and walkers, running the 26th annual event itself is equally impressive.
鈥淲e have a huge team that works on it, and that includes 35 people on the volunteer committee,鈥� said Cathy Noel, race director of the event hosted by the non-profit Victoria International Running Society.
鈥淭he sponsors are hugely important, for both financial support and promotion,鈥� said Noel, who also spearheaded the event last year and from 2005 through 2008. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the ones making this happen.鈥�
Society president Shannon Kowalko concurred, adding the reception was an ideal way to also acknowledge partners including the sa国际传媒, City of Victoria, The District of Oak Bay, teams, charities and 800聽volunteers.
Charities include the Heart & Stroke Foundation of sa国际传媒 and Yukon, returning for its 20th year, with more than $750,000 raised so far, sa国际传媒 Cancer Foundation, Every Step Counts, Help Fill A Dream, the sa国际传媒鈥檚 Raise-a-Reader program and, new this year, Victoria Hospitals Foundation and the Victoria chapter of Cystic Fibrosis sa国际传媒.
鈥淚t takes a lot of moving parts to pull it all together, and this kick-starts the whole event, said Kowalko, who, with sa国际传媒 columnist Jack Knox, asked trivia questions for a TC聽10K bingo game.
Volunteers and other guests were given bingo cards and invited to compete for the chance to win a print featuring renowned artist Richard Hunt鈥檚 dancing heron design for this year鈥檚 TC 10K.
鈥淭his truly would not be possible without all those dedicated volunteers,鈥� Kowalko said. 鈥淭hey really are the nuts and bolts of this organization.鈥�
Familiar faces in the crowd included Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen, sa国际传媒 advertising sales manager Jason Scriven and editor-in-chief Dave Obee, SportHost Victoria executive director Hugh MacDonald, Thrifty Foods community relations manager Vivian Chenard, and Heart & Stroke Foundation of sa国际传媒 and Yukon鈥檚 regional manager Janice Krall.
Elite athletes on hand included Kenya鈥檚 Benard Ngeno, Leonard Kipkoech and Jane Murage.
鈥淏ecause I was the champion I wanted to defend my title again,鈥� said Murage, 28, who came in third at last weekend鈥檚 Sun Run in Vancouver, and was woman鈥檚 champion at the 2013 and 2014 10K races.
鈥淚鈥檓 predicting I will break the record this year. That鈥檚 my goal.鈥�
Asked why she wins so often, the Nairobi native said: 鈥淚 train hard, and I also hold the pain. There鈥檚 a saying that if you hold the pain more, you鈥檒l be the champion.鈥�
Many runners in the crowd had their own reasons for participating in yet another TC 10K, apart from the fact it鈥檚 such a highly regarded and inclusive community event.
鈥淚 got into running because I had a father I lost when I was six who was a life insurance salesman, but he couldn鈥檛 have life insurance because he had a heart condition,鈥� said Victoria businessman and running guru Rob Reid.
鈥淗e was 38 when he passed away on the operating table in Toronto, so there are a lot of things that motivate us to stay fit and healthy.鈥�
Reid, whose family is billeting Murage, said another objective for himself and fellow runners is to hopefully be great mentors for youths following in their footsteps.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so great to have shorter races for kids and have them meet Jane,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o have kids meet a Kenyan who is a full-time runner and what that means to children in Kenya is pretty special. 鈥�
