The 32nd annual running of the Manitoba Marathon took place on Father's Day, Sunday, June 20 and Snow Lake was well represented, both by current and former residents of the community.  No less than one full marathoner, five half marathoners, and two relay teams were made up of the aforementioned.  They all finished their respective events; exhibiting exceptional determination in doing so ... with one posting a commendable time in the process.

    Avid full marathoner, Sheri Hill, 47, was the only resident to compete in the full marathon.  After recently recuperating from an injury that kept her from running for a number of months, she was unsure (up until a day or so before the event) whether or not she would, or could, compete.  She did. However, the heat of the day took a toll on her.  Determined to finish, she ended up walking towards the end of the gruelling 26.2-mile (46.2-kilometre) run and finished 627 out of 679, with a time of 5:26:03.

    The half marathon saw six former residents lace up, compete and complete the 13.1-mile (23.1-kilometre) course that wound through the ritzy neighbourhoods straddling the banks of Winnipeg's swollen Red River.  Past Snow Lake resident and current Flin Flonner, Rick Leclair, 53, finished the run in 649 spot, out of 3,882 participants.  For someone who considers himself an intermittent runner, Leclair posted an exceptional time of 1:51:02, shaving eight minutes and 13 seconds off of his 2009 time.

    Shaunta Moncaster, 32, grew up in Snow Lake. She is now an ardent runner and a resident of Calgary.  She finished the Half Marathon in 2379 spot, with a time of 2:16:36.  Former recreation director, Stephanie Foy, 35, covered the distance in 2:28:20, finishing in 2,961 spot.  As did the mayor's daughter, Christina Zamzow, 35, who crossed the finish line at 2:28:22, which was good for 2,966 spot.  Christina now lives in Winnipeg.  Former Snow Lake resident, Bryanne McLaughlin, 23, who is now residing in Brandon, finished a minute after Zamzow, with a time of 2:29:33, which garnered her 3,012 position.  And Sheri's husband Brian Hill, 58, took the 3,577 spot with a time of 2:52:19. During a short chat while waiting for his wife at the finish line, he advised that he wasn't happy with his time; however, this writer couldn't help but think that there are people half his age who have a hard time getting off the couch on a Sunday morning, let alone going out and running 13 miles in the heat of the day.

    The relay brought forth two very special stories, both playing off the dream of a single runner on one of the teams.  All people run for a reason, many of those reasons involve a goal – be it fitness oriented or testing one's limits.  The inspiration behind the Northern Lights Relay Team was Snow Lake teacher, Joanne Bradley.  In 2009, she approached several friends to run with her in the relay and prior to last year's race she explained what motivated her.  “It was 10 years ago in June that my mom passed away at the age of 50 from a heart attack,” Bradley explained in a June 2009 interview.  “I was thinking about her a lot throughout the year and came to the realization that if I am lucky I will spend more years without her than I did with her.  I was 24 when she died.  And, well … that made me sad, so I tried to think of a good way to keep her in my life and honour her at the same time?”

    Bradley’s mother was a long distance runner; she did ½ marathons, and was a 10-year veteran of the Cabot Trail Relay Race (which is a 28-hour road race around Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail).  “So I decided I would run in the Manitoba Marathon in her memory,” said the high school English teacher.

    After losing two original members from her 2009 team, Bradley had Lola Leclair and Melinda Hrechka agree to run with her.  Back this year and running for the same reason, Bradley was joined by fellow teacher Jodi Kowalchuk, Cathy Stabback, Leone Jackson (who was injured prior to last year's event) and Leone's daughter, Jessica Jackson.  Relay teams split the race into five legs.  The legs and distances run by each participant were:  Leone Jackson, 50, Leg 1: 9.17 km; Joanne Bradley, 35, Leg 2: 7.14 km; Jodi Kowalchuk, 43, Leg 3: 6.77 km; Cathy Stabback, 51, Leg 4: 9.83 km; and Jessica Jackson, 22, Leg 5: 8.65 km.  The group finished their relay 689 out of 705, with a time of 5:22:47.

    The other relay team, with a Snow Lake connection, in this year's marathon was Gerry's Joggers.  There link to the Northern Lights was through Lola Leclair and Melinda Hrechka - both ladies were members of the that team in 2009.  Last year after the event, Leclair set the stage for a new team.  “Joanne has really started something here, because now my sisters are all pumped up about this and think that we should run it next year in honour of our dad (Lola’s father Gerry Roy passed away with cancer several years ago)," she said. "We could be Gerry’s Joggers!”  As noted that team did form and was made up of Lola and Melinda, as well as sisters, Michelle Simpson, Marci Sul, and Marci's daughter Brooke Roy.

    They ran in memory of their father, and their mother Val was there to cheer them on and remind them of the Roy patriarch's competitive nature and the pride and love he would have felt for his daughters and granddaughter.  If having their mom there wasn't enough for the girls, all they needed to do during any point in the run, was look down to the small cross with the initials 'GJ' (Gerry's Joggers) boldly emblazoned above it to know why they were doing it.  Further to this and prior to the race, Michelle tore a pocket from one of her father's shirts and cut it into five perfect squares.  Each team member tucked one into their clothing, placing it close to their hearts and ran the race with Dad/Grandpa close by.

    The Legs run by Gerry's Joggers were: Leg 1: Michelle Simpson, 48, Leg 2: Brooke Roy, 14, Leg 3: Marci Sul, 36, Leg 4: Melinda Hrechka, 45, Leg 5: Lola Leclair, 46.  Their time was 5:07:12, which placed them in the 664th position.

    As was the case last year, all participants who were spoken to maintained that the atmosphere of the Manitoba Marathon was spectacular, and unbelievably supportive.  Members of the public along the routes screamed, yelled, and cheered encouragement.  People had their sprinklers set up to cool runners down.  Entertainers were out in full force - everything from the Japanese Drummers on Crescent Drive to the old-timer on Rosewarne Avenue pumping out the Polka greats on his accordion.   Refreshments were also plentiful, with water stations strategically placed along the route.  As well, Rick Leclair advised that the guys handing out beer on Kingston Row were back again - but in a show of moderation, were only handing out half glasses.

    All runners, of course, are looking forward to next year’s Father’s Day and the 33rd annual running of Manitoba Marathon!