Lucas Punkari
With 125 runners taking part in the 5K run, and 60 kids running a kilometre beforehand, this year’s Energy Fitness “June Bug” Fun Run on Saturday morning was a rousing success.
“It went wonderfully,” enthused Jackie Lampi-Hughes, who helped organize the event along with Ashleigh Dutton and Nicole Katona-Campbell.
“We had perfect weather and really good participation.
“We were hoping for about 100 people to take part and we ended up exceeding that, so things went really well,” she added.
The 5K course, which saw the runners leave from the Sorting Gap Marina towards Seven Oaks at Pither’s Point, and a hill repeat at the overpass, presented runners with a few different challenges no matter what their level of experience.
“It was a little too warm at some times with the sun beating down, but other than that everything was really good,” noted Melissa Belluz, who also has run in 10K and half-marathons.
“As I saw the women my age passing me by, I knew that they were doing a lot more training than I did,” smiled John Dutton, who was running for the first time in 15 years.
“I actually thought that my cardio was a lot better than I thought it would be from using the elliptical treadmills and things like that at the gym, so I ended up doing pretty much what I expected with a 30-minute time,” he added.
With the runners mainly from Rainy River District, along with a few out-of-towners from International Falls and Dryden making the trek to take part in the event, the morning was not only a good event for runner to meet but for families to participate.
“Personally speaking, it was a big day for me because I had my nephews, nieces, son, mom, dad, and sister all taking part,” said Lampi-Hughes.
“We try to promote as a fun family event, and this year we saw a lot of parents run in the 5K and their kids take part in the 1K run,” she noted.
While Saturday’s run marked the last event for most of the local Energy Fitness contingent, a few now will be preparing for the Thunder Bay Marathon, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 18.
