A school principal is covering a lot of ground in preparation for a 13-kilometre run that will take him through the scenic foothills to the region’s biggest farmers market.
Millarville Community School principal Glenn Gibson is one of more than 800 athletes signed up to participate in the Millarville Run to the Farmers’ Market Half Marathon on June 13.
The event, hosted by the Millarville Racing and Agricultural Society, features a 21.1km half marathon, two-person half marathon relay and 12.8 km Cobs Cinnamon Bun Run that begins at the Oilfields Regional Arena in Black Diamond and finishes at the Millarville Race Track to kick off the opening of the Millarville Farmers’ Market season.
Gibson is joining the Cinnamon Bun Run after volunteering at one of the stations last year.
“I couldn’t believe the excitement of the people going by the bun station,” he recalled. “I’m a semi-sometimes runner and it’s definitely a beautiful run to go on. Being a community member it’s a big opportunity to get out and meet new people I haven’t met yet.”
To prepare for the run, Gibson has trained since last winter and is currently running five kilometres three times during the week and eight kilometres on weekends.
He’s even convinced two Millarville Community School staff members to join him on the run.
“We are following each other on social media for our running distances,” he said. “There’s a little bit of pressure there.”
Race director Rick Charlton said only two Millarville residents signed up in the event’s first year in 2012. This year there are about 20.
“One of our goals is to promote health and wellness and volunteerism in our rural community, so it’s nice to see that the local participation is moving higher,” he said.
Charlton said about 60 participants are from Okotoks this year, 10 each from Black Diamond and Turner Valley and more than 50 per cent hail from Calgary. The remaining runners are mostly from across southern Alberta, he said.
He said the number is growing steadily every year, and attributes that to the fun atmosphere from the start line in Black Diamond to the finish line at the farmers’ market.
“Everybody has a great time,” he said. “They really like running the open country. It’s very green, there’s lots of cows and horses along the way and finishing at southern Alberta’s largest outdoor market is a great destination for them.”
In fact, Charlton organized the half marathon to elevate attendance on the opening day of the farmers’ market, and finds each participant typically brings an average of one and a half people to the market.
The marathon is a fundraiser for the Millarville Racing and Agricultural Society and select charities in the Foothills.
Participants can join teams to raise funds this year for the Rowan House Emergency Shelter, Foothills Country Hospice Society and Foothills Land Trust.
Participants in the event continue to tell Charlton that while the course is challenging, it’s also rewarding.
“Most people will say it’s more challenging than most courses in the area, yet they seem to love doing it,” he said. “You have to be thinking about what you’re doing to do next instead of going into mindless gear and letting your mind wander.”
A cap has been placed on participant numbers this year due to the first six kilometres of the course changing as a result of construction.
The new route will now have runners looping 1.3 km in Turner Valley, meaning they will run both directions on the Friendship Trail between Black Diamond and Turner Valley, Charlton said.
Space is only available for the Cinnamon Bun Run. Participants have until midnight on June 7 to register.
“Each year there’s more people,” said Charlton. “There probably would have been several hundred more people if we hadn’t capped things.”
While finding participants has never been an issue, Charlton said it’s a different situation for volunteers, with about 135 needed to assist at aid stations, hand out refreshments to participants, marshal the course and assist at the start and finish lines.
“Every year I lose volunteers because they are running the next year and it’s happening again this year,” he said, adding he needs a few more volunteers.
To volunteer at the Millarville Run to the Farmers’ Market Half Marathon or for more information go to www.millarvillehalfmarathon.com
The Millarville Farmers’ Market takes place at the Millarville Race Track Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring more than 150 vendors featuring food, arts and crafts, as well as a concession, hay rides, live music, shows and special events.
To learn more about the Millarville Farmers’ Market go to www.millarvilleracetrack.com
