Hundreds of children came together at York University on Saturday, June 7th to compete in the 2008 KidsFest 5K Run for Change, Canada’s largest kids-only run, proudly sponsored by Scotiabank.  After training hard all year at afterschool Running & Reading Programs pioneered by Canadian Women’s Marathon Record Holder, Silvia Ruegger, participants from 9 clubs in Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe area gave their best performance while hundreds of coaches cheered them on to accomplish a goal that most had only dreamed of.

First to cross the finish line was Justice of Frontenac School, who came in with a record time of 18:39.  Tariq, second boy overall at 21:24, and Asasha, the fastest female at 23:46, were both of North Kipling School.  Hot on the heels of Asasha was Nya, our second place female finisher at 23:47 from Cathy Wever.  The representation from all schools was outstanding –  a little heat couldn’t slow them down!

Defending champions, Willow Road of Guelph, held onto their title of fastest team overall.  The largest grade school in Ontario, and newcomers to the program, Thorncliffe Park, finished a very impressive second overall.  Regent Park/Duke of York School took a very respectable third place. 

“I had fun today,” one young girl remarked.  “It doesn’t matter that I wasn’t the fastest runner.”  She beamed.  “The important thing is that I accomplished my goal.  I finished the race!”

A special thank you goes out to all of our volunteers and sponsors who made this day a powerful and memorable one for our kids, and to all of the coaches who encouraged and mentored the children throughout the school year.  A job well done!

Click here for Race results

KidsFest Runners Compete Across Canada

While KidsFest Running & Reading Club participants ran in Toronto on Saturday, their peers at Eastwood School competed simultaneously in the 5K Golden Hour Race in Edmonton.  Every child kept a good  pace and finished strong.

On Sunday, June 8th, the Shaughnessy Park Running & Reading Club made a great showing at the Cruisin’ Down the Crescent Run 5K/10K, where half of the children boldly registered in, and completed, a phenomenal 10K!  Congratulations!

Four additional Running & Reading Clubs in Manitoba and Halifax look forward to competing in year-end 5K challenges this month.

KidsFest is extremely proud of all of our 2008 race participants.  Way to go, kids!