It’s so much nicer then a road race”
“It’s a great run through a scenic forest”
“It’s mostly flat but a couple of hills make it challenging.”
Those were some of the complimentary comments from the 405 entries from the inaugural 5K Rainforest Trail Run/Walk Sunday morning following the event which was held at Swangard Stadium in Central Park, on the traditional ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish people.
And to make the run/walk even more interesting, the participants had to make their way through a movie set that was being set up about the 4K mark for their day’s shoot.
Vancouver’s Julien Cooper made it through the set and the forest fastest of all, finishing in 18.59 minutes to finish as the top male. The 37-year-old has been running for the past 16-years.
Florence Charbonneau of Vancouver was top female finisher, crossing the line in 20.37, fourth overall. She, too, has been running for 16 years and said this was her first 5K run in three years.
Janene Erickson of the Nak' Azdli Whut'en First Nations, was the first Indigenous female runner to finish while will winning the 30-39 year age group with 26:15.
Declan Warburton was the top Indigenous male, his time of 21.18 .
“A great start to this inaugural run and festival to honour the Indigenous cultures and celebrate fitness and health in the urban rainforest of Central Park,” said Doug Clement, President of Achilles International Track Society, who organized the event.
A big thank you to Debra Sparrrow of the Musqueam Nation, Mayor Mike Hurley of the City of Burnaby, Harold Munro Editor in Chief of the Vancouver Sun and Province and Joe Gallagher, CEO of the First Nations Health Authority for their participation.
None of this would have been possible without the support of our founding partners TELUS and Victory Creative Group.
