And here they go again. On Monday, February 3 the 40 players from Hockey Marathon for the Kids found out exactly what it is like to play a four hour continual shift on skates.
A four hour training game was held at the Chestermere Rec Centre, which will soon be home to the hockey hero’s for 11 days likely consisting of many highs and lows. This opportunity was especially important for the 11 newbies to the event to get broken in. Soon these players will know all too well what it takes to skate into the Guinness Book of World Records when they will take to the ice for a repeat performance of the 2012 record setting event.
Event chair, Alex Halat, says that this training game is crucial to the success of the marathon. “We’ve all been training hard for months now but there’s nothing like getting used to the feeling of being in your skates for four hours to get you prepared, we needed to remind our bodies what we are about to go through.”
According to a press release, Scott Logan knows all too well what these guys are going through. As a player from the 2012 Hockey Marathon for the Kids and now on the organizing committee he has firsthand knowledge of what will happen. “What these players will go through over 10.5 days is really incomprehensible. This 4 hour skate will be small tastes of what they can expect each shift, how their bodies react, the pace each player needs to play at and, most importantly, the toll it will take on their mind and body!” stated Logan.
Fundraising has begun and the bar is set at $2million. Once again the funds for the Hockey Marathon for the Kids will be given to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation however with hopes of raising over 2 million dollars, funds will also be allocated to Southern Alberta Flood Relief and Samuel’s Ride for Rescue.
Andrew Marriott, Franchisee of Chestermere Tim Hortons came out to watch the game and to offer his support. “We are thrilled that Alex Halat and his courageous crew are once again looking to raise money for the Alberta Children’s Hospital – this is an organization that is very dear to Tim Hortons restaurant owners, and such a worthy recipient of funds raised by this group of hockey players. Our Chestermere Tim Hortons was very proud to support this record breaking event last time around and have plans to increase our support through sponsorship and full product donation.”
The Hockey Marathon for the Kids will be held from May 4-14, 2014. For more information, please visit www.hockeymarathon.com.
