Sunny skies and a fast track were the perfect backdrop to a day of fun, competition and fundraising for a great cause as the 2014 edition of Giddy Up & Gallop took place at Mohawk Racetrack on Sunday morning.
Over $5,000 was raised for Friends of We Care, thanks to the fundraising efforts of many industry participants and runners. This amount exceeded the organizers' expectations.
Two of the training centres sent running reps and combined raised over $1,800 in sponsorship monies. Paul Cameron ran on behalf of Ideal Training Centre and Joe Stutzman ran on behalf of First Line Training Centre.
“I had a great day at Giddy Up and Gallop today!” said an exuberant Sydney Weaver, who was on hand in an official capacity as an Ambassador for Friends of We Care. “Thank you to everyone who ran, donated, sponsored, and cheered. You helped make today's event the success that it was. Thanks to you more kids will be able to go to summer camp and create lifelong memories and life changing experiences!” Sydney also took part in the one lap kids fun run.
Sydney Weaver and Jett & Jody Jamieson square off in a dash to the wire
With the Mohawk oval listed as fast, many impressive times were clocked as runners hit the wire. With three features of the day, each run offered a different take on the athletic event.
To kick off the card, the mascots took to the track for the annual 50m Mascot Race, which was won by a very speedy Willie Win.
In the feature event, the popular Kids One Lap Fun Run, Victor Montini proved to be the best with an impressive time of 5:23. Victor was also the winner in this event in 2012.
The top overall runner for the 5K was 39-year-old Claire Couper of Rockwood, Ontario, with a time of 18:59. Claire was over a full minute in front of the top male, Phil LeClerc, who hit the wire in 20:03.
The 5K race featured many familiar faces of racing. Drivers Billy Davis Jr., Jonathan Drury, Sylvain Filion and trainers Casie Coleman, Steve Coulter, Darryl Langstone and Ted Nadhazi laced up their runners alongside the rest of the participants. Nick Eaves, President and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment Group, took part in the 5K and was the official starter for the Kids One Lap event.
Some of the kids from the One Lap race
Casie Coleman ran a sub 25 minute 5K, just ahead of Billy Davis Jr., who stopped the clock in 25:14, while Jody Jamieson hit the wire in 26:09.
Sylvain Filion and his wife Dominic, both came in under 30 minutes while taking turns pushing their daughter Stella Rose in a running stroller the entire 5K.
To take a look at the official race results, click on one of the following links:
Photos of the event are posted on giddyupandgallop.com and on SC’s Facebook page.
Thank you to all of the participants, the spectators, sponsors, partners and the volunteers for making this event a great success for Friends of We Care!
(Photography by Sarah Lauren Scott)