Runners won’t be the only winners at Sunday’s GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon. The winners will also include 24 charities as part of the event’s official charities and the CHEK Charity Pledge Program.
An estimated 8,000 runners and walkers will take part in one of four races — a marathon, a half-marathon, an eight-kilometre road race and a children’s fun run.
For those who are passionate about running, the event is the only certified Boston Marathon qualifier on Vancouver Island. Admission to the Boston event is the Holy Grail for many long-distance runners.
Age is no barrier to get to Boston, as those of senior years have a lower bar to achieve.
Keith Ashton, who turned 80 this year, is one of the hopefuls. If he finishes on Sunday in under four hours, 50 minutes, he will be eligible to race in Boston next year.
Ashton is a member of Happy Feet, a marathon training clinic offered by Victoria store Frontrunners.
“I enjoy running,” said Ashton, who moved to Victoria from Alberta in 2006. “I ran cross-country a long time ago. My wife and I moved to Victoria and the change in climatic conditions meant that I could pick up the sport again. I estimate that I will keep doing this as long as I can and as far as I can.”
Ashton’s only regret is not discovering that he could have raised money for charity before he signed up.
His fellow runner, Johnny McGoff, has so far raised more than $5,000 in pledges and donations for the Kidney Foundation.
McGoff, 39, got his start in running after receiving a kidney from his mother in 2013 due to him having polysystic kidney disease.
“After the surgery, I was overweight with high blood pressure and took up running as a way of losing some weight and getting fit,” McGoff said. “When I started, I didn’t like it, but things got better.”
This is his first marathon, and he wanted to give back to the Kidney Foundation for all of its support.
“I wanted to support them so that others would benefit from their services,” he said.
McGoff’s fundraising is a growing trend, said Cathy Noel, general manager and race director of the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon.
Started 15 years ago, the event offers three official charities: KidSport Greater Victoria, GoodLife Kids Foundation and the Pacific Autism Family Centre. There are 21 other charities that form the CHEK Charity Pledge Program.
“To date, we have raised more than $1.85 million and we hope to top $2 million this year,” Noel said.
“The top charity — the Mt. St. Mary Hospitals Foundation — has raised more than $80,000.”
She said the event is a win-win for the charities, as they don’t have to worry about organizing the event.
“The Official charities and Charity Pledge Program allows us to give back to the community by providing supporters with a platform to raise money and awareness for their favourite charity.”
To see all the participants, it is good to remember that there are a number of start times, with the first wave of marathoners going at 6:30 a.m. The half-marathon and marathon for visually impaired and wheelchair athletes start at 7:55 a.m. The main marathon and half-marathon start at 8 a.m. from Menzies Street (beside the B.C. Legislative Buildings). The 8-km Turkey Trot starts at 8:45 and the Thrifty Foods Kids Run at 10:30 a.m. at Government Street at Superior.
Maps of the routes of the varying distances can be downloaded from the event website. Several roads will be closed to vehicular traffic, with police and course marshals along the route and at intersections.
For more information, go to runvictoriamarathon.com.
