As we tackle the second full week of January, some people will, hopefully, still be hanging onto their New Year’s resolutions.
If you are one of that fortunate few, then the Steveston Ice-breaker 8K Run/Walk is the very event for you this weekend.
After kicking off in the early 1990s, primarily as a family-themed fundraiser for Richmond athletic club Kajaks, the Ice-breaker is still one of the most popular in the road race calendar.
The number of participants has dropped off a little from nearing 400 in its first decade, but with it being the first event in the LMRRS (Lower Mainland Road Race Series), it retains a certain stature in the community.
“I started it in the early ‘90s and it has changed its route over the years,” said Kajaks’ Peter Phillips, one of the event organizers.
“It used to start right in front of Steveston Community Centre, but with all the development over the years, that became impractical. We moved the start to the dike, which is actually much better.”
Sunday’s race will start at on the south dike at the foot of No. 1 Road and will do an eight-kilometre loop east along the dike to about the foot of No. 3 Road.
Participants can drop their bag at the event’s Steveston Community Centre base, where soup, pizza and door prizes will feature during the indoor, post-race festivities.
“We needed a fundraiser and we were looking for a fun event for Kajaks and their families, so we thought, ‘let’s be one of the first out of the gate so there’s no competition with other events,’” said Phillips of the original motivation to organize the Ice-breaker.
“It’s a certified course and it’s a run/walk with a medal system for age categories.
“I’d prefer people to pre-register, but it can be done on the day if need be.
“This is a great way to start the year, I can’t think of a better way than running and hopefully the event can kick up our membership a little as well.”
Online registration closes at midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 13 and can be done at kajaks.ca. Entry costs between $28 and $35.
The race itself starts at 8:30 a.m.
