このRunWildはSt.Albertにある理学療法のクリニックが主催者で、さらに、そのクリニックに勤めるSteveの友達の奥さんが元々のアイディアの起案者でした☆
Last Sunday (May 15th) there was an event held here in St.Albert called the Run Wild Marathon! The event was organized by a local physiotherapy clinic which is run by Steve's friend's wife, who was also the main force behind the RunWild event!
そんなご縁から、Joanさん、Steve、私はボランティアとして大会をサポートし、Howardさんはなんとハーフマラソンに参加されました（●＾o＾●）
RunWildは初の企画で、走者が集まるかなぁ・・ボランティアが集まるかなぁ・・など、なんせ第1回目のことなので、周りの人もどうかなぁ～とわくわくしていましたが、ふたを開けてみると、走者500以上、ボランティア300人以上を集める大きな大会になり、記念すべき第一回目のRunWildは大成功に終わりました！
So, Joan, Steve and I signed up to help out as event volunteers and Howard participated by running the half-marathon（●＾o＾●）
This was the inaugural Run Wild event, so along with it came the usual uncertainties of a first-time event: how many people will turn out to participate?...Will there be enough volunteers?... It seemed there was a healthy mix of nerves and excitement. In the end, it was a tremendous success, with over 1500 participants running, and over 300 people turning out to volunteer! The inaugural Run Wild event was a huge success!
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| このピンクのTシャツがボランティアの印です～！当日ボランティアに配布されます。 These pink shirts were worn by all the volunteers! |
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| 特設ライブステージもあり、雰囲気は日本の夏祭りのようでした（＾＾） There was a stage featuring live music performances. The atmosphere really reminded me of summer festivals back in Japan（＾＾） |
・フルマラソン
・ハーフマラソン
・10ｋｍマラソン／ウォーク
・５ｋｍマラソン／ウォーク
・キッズマラソン
などなど、マラソンを本格的にする人から子どもまで幅広い人が参加できる種目になっていました。
The events held were:
-Full Marathon
-Half Marathon
-10k marathon/walk
-5k marathon/walk
-kids marathon
There was something for everyone! From the serious marathon runner to youngsters and everyone in between!
Joanさんは当日朝5時40分集合で、コース整備のボランティアをされ、Steveと私は幸運なことに朝10時からのゴールラインのボランティアでした。
Joan had to be there at 5:40 in the morning as she was a volunteer course marshal. Steve and I lucked out and our shift as volunteers at the finish line didn't start until 10:00 (giving Steve the chance to go out and cheer-on the runners as well as distract Luke from his volunteer duties).
私たちが集合時間の10時にゴールに行くと、7時半から始まっているハーフマラソンに参加したHowardさんのゴールが見れないということで、ちょっと早めに行ってゴールの決定的瞬間をカメラに収めました☆
We decided to head-down to the finish line a little before we started our shift so that we could see Howard finishing the half-marathon, which had started at 7:30. I caught the action on my camera☆
With Joan volunteering along the race route, Karina and Steve cheering out where the race passed by home, and then with us at the finish line, Howard's support team was out cheering him on in full force!! (*^_^*)
私たちのボランティアの仕事はゴールをしたフルマラソンとハーフマラソンの選手にメダルを渡すという仕事でした！
We had quite possibly the most enjoyable volunteer duty of all! It was our job to pass medals out to the participants as they completed their event!
It was such a great feeling to be able to congratulate the participants as they accomplished their goal! (*^_^*)
For someone like me who has never ran more than 5km, it was exhilarating to see the marathoners up close with streams of sweat and even salt from their extreme efforts.
また、このRunWildはチャリティーが目的のイベントで、今回のイベントで集まったお金はzebraという子どもの生活を支援する団体に寄付されるそうです。
カナダにいるとたくさんのイベントが非営利団体などに寄付が回るようになっているので、ちょっと気を抜くと当たり前のようになって忘れてしまいそうになりますが、社会全体でお互いを助け合う素晴らしい流れがあるということを改めて再認識しようと思いました。
It was a great event and it raised money for a great charity: a child protection agency named Zebra.
In Canada, events arranged by not-for-profit groups to raise money for charitable organizations are so common that sometimes I forget to mention it - but this wonderful idea of society at large working together to help a cause seems prevalent This admirable mentality is definitely something to reflect upon.
気候がだんだん暖かくなってきて外での活動がどんどん増えてきます。
またカナダでの活発な様子をどんどん報告できるように、私自身も外で体を動かしたいと思います！（目標！）
Well, the weather here is warming up and outdoor events are on the up n' up!
I'm going to get out and get moving more and more so that I can keep-up the updates about Canada's active ways! (I'll make it my goal!)
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