Staff
The Meaford Harbour 5K Run/Walk committee, along with the Meaford Hospital Foundation, have officially announced that the 5K this year is moving to a full virtual event.
“We had hoped that the restrictions might have been lifted to allow us to move forward with hosting a live event this year. The health and safety of our volunteers, participants, and spectators was the main reason for our decision along with the gathering numbers allowed by the province and trying to condense an event from a participant base of 500 to 100 per Run and Walk portion of the event. It isn’t worth risking the health of our community,” explained Jen Wright, Executive Director.
The Virtual 5K ‘option’ has been available since early July to those who wished to continue their support for the hospital but weren’t comfortable attending on race day. Now everyone gets the opportunity to complete the 5K their way.
“We hope that it will encourage participants to complete the 5K their way in smaller groups or with family,” said organizers.
The rules still apply that all participants must complete the 5K between September 1 and 19, fill in and return the Activity log for a chance to win awards and prizes. The fun and adventurous part of it is that participants can now kayak, canoe, run, walk, stroll, bike or whichever way they wish to complete 5K. There are even some cool prizes for those that push their way to blow past 5K and give themselves a larger challenge. You can choose to track your mileage with our Activity log, which is printable from our site or use the Asics Run Keeper, Garmin, Fit Bit, or Apple Watch to track kms.
The kids 1K had been cancelled in the early stages however we invite kids to join their friends and family and complete 5K OR pick up a Bingo Scavenger card at the Meaford Chamber of Commerce or download it from the website. All kids who complete the card will receive an award for their efforts. We hope this will give kids a fun, social distancing, and interactive challenge this summer.
What we do know is that raising funds for mental health initiatives is important and we are continuing to promote the event and we hope the community will rally together to support the participants and the event by sponsoring, donating, or joining. We urge you to grab your circle of 10, your family or co-workers – sign up, fundraise, and help us reach our goal!
How can you get involved? Register today to support YOUR local hospital at www.mhfoundation.ca.
Now more than ever your support is needed ! Please join us! Register or donate at https://mhfoundation.ca/events/meaford-harbour-5k-run-walk/
