8k | Mama Cormier

…46 years ago Kevin ran in this race and yesterday our daughter took part at the High Park Spring Run Off Race

Back in the day my husband was an elite runner. When the kids were little we used to bundle them up, strap them into their car seats and drive off to races all over Ontario and New York State. One of the races that was closer to home was the High Park Spring Run Off. When it first started back in 1978 it attracted an impressive 1200 runners and yesterday’s race saw over 5000 men, women and children running in the 8k, 5k and children’s race.

This is not the first year that our daughter, Andrea ran in this race but it was certainly her best performance. She placed 1st in her age category for women. Kevin and I arrived after the race started but we managed to find a prime spot just at the top of the hill so we had a great vantage point for taking photos and caught her just steps in front of the finish line.

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….following in her father’s footsteps

When my husband was in his twenties to thirties he was considered an elite runner. He specialized in long distances, anywhere from 10k to marathons. As he got older he decided that in order to continue to improve it would mean making more sacrifices that would negatively affect our family. He made the decision to quit running because the sacrifice wasn’t worth it.

We never pushed our children into running but our son seemed to have a natural gift and in his early teens he pursued running until he started to suffer pain and he had to make a decision between a music career and being a runner. He chose his cello over his running shoes.

Our oldest daughter took an interest in running in her 30s. Over the years she has participated in numerous races, anywhere from 5k to half a marathon. Every year she steadily gets better. Her wife also started running with her.

Today we attended a race that holds special memories for my husband. The Spring Run-off is held every year in High Park and some 35 years ago or more Kevin ran in this race as a member of the Brooks Racing Team. The race then was known as the Brook’s Spring Run-off.

Today Andrea and Josie joined some 2600 runners to take part in this challenging 8k race. The challenge is in the hills that this race covers. Andrea was aiming to complete the race in 40 minutes and did it in 39 minutes and change. Out of 900 women participating today she placed 8th in her age category. She was delighted with her accomplishment.

As you can see the race attracts all ages. My daughter is the young lady on left in the above photo with the blue sunglasses. Here a few more of her throughout the race (one of Josie #1927)