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Rupert Runners lace up for first race of the season

Running group sees surge in membership
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Registration is open for the 2022 Rupert Half Marathon + 8 k. Members of the Learn2Run group running near Charles Hays Secondary School, on Feb. 24. (Photo: Norman Galimski/The Northern View)

Registration has opened for the 2022 Rupert Half + 8 k run with city athletes gearing up to run the first race of the season to be held on April 10, hosted by Rupert Runners.

“People are just pumped that there’s actually an event after so long of there not being one,” Jamie Komadina, vice-president of Rupert Runners, said.

The half-marathon race will be the first of four running events in the region during the season and will feature three races.

On the day the events will include a 21-kilometre half-marathon for individual runners, starting at 9 a.m. A half marathon relay for teams of two will also start at 9 a.m. and a shorter eight km race starts at 9:30 a.m.

For the first time, the races will also feature a new chip timing system to replace the previous volunteer-based timekeepers. Komadina said the reusable shoe tags are clipped off at the finish line and can be reused in future races.

“This will give us the option to have a timing mat at the finish. People will get an official time and nobody’s going to have to be stressed out using a stopwatch and spreadsheet,” she said.

The new electronic tags will ease the pressure recruiting volunteers was difficult in previous years due to the stressful challenges of timekeeping, she said.

In the lead-up to this year’s running season, a group of new runners, through the Learn2Run program has been hitting the track with the end goal of participating in a 10 km race.

Meeting three times a week, the 13-week program, managed by Rupert Runners, takes a “couch to 10 km” approach. They train first-time or returning runners to reach their athletic goals.

Founded decades ago and originally geared toward adults, the running group has evolved over the years into family-friendly activity. The gradual nature of the training has allowed young children to be able to improve alongside their parents showing them that they can do it too, Komadina said.

The group has surged to more than 85 members in 2022, being a year with one of the most participants recorded, she said.

Those wishing to participate in the 2022 Rupert Half + 8km can register online.

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Norman Galimski | Journalist
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