A decade ago, the idea of looping the lake with runners was born as a fundraiser for the local library.
At the time, Bernie Maillet set the goal of raising $100,000, and he hoped to do it in 10 years.
Well … the annual Loop Around the Lake is celebrating its 10th year, and Maillet is pleased to report they are just a couple thousand away from the original goal.
It’s grown from the original 11.2-km run to a 5-km secondary run and 1-km scamper for the kids, moving from the first year in September to its current home in late June.
The race goes Sunday, June 24, starting with the big race at 8 a.m., the 5-km starting 15 minutes later and the small race at 10 a.m.
“Everybody steps in and helps the Library,” Maillet said. “Because it’s a small city orientated thing, everyone grew up knowing this. There are runners who have come to this race since they were two or three.
“There are some who have done the 5K this year but are moving up to the 11.2K this year. It’s good to have goals.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it. It’s good to see the runners out helping the library out. It’s a fun day. The best part of the day is the kids run.
“Last year we had a big puddle close to the finish line. Do you think any kid ran around the puddle? They jumped into the puddle and it was fun to watch.”
Maillet expects this to be his last year running the annual event, but he plans to pass off the duties to some other local runners.
He feels now is the time for someone else to take it to another level and expand the fundraising aspect of it, either with raffles or getting more businesses on board.
The event has received tremendous support over the years from several Chestermere businesses, most notably TD Bank, which has contributed a large portion of the money raised.
Maillet believes if someone else has the ambition, they can expand what he’s started.
“This year I didn’t have much time to run around,” said Maillet, who works as a courier as his day job. “I’m going to hand off this to someone else. Every time I take time off work I have to pay my spare driver. I couldn’t afford to take the time off anymore.”
What racers can expect with their entry is a Loop Around the Lake t-shirt, refreshments, a medal upon completing their distance and an official time — something most experience for the first time.
“The best race is the one kilometre,” Maillet said. “For $20, every kid gets a shirt, medal and timed. Most of the kids have never worn timing chips before. Usually they are four or five years old. I’ve had as young as two. It’s the last race of the day and usually everyone is in from the 11.2 or the 5K by the time we start that race.”
Maillet started in running when he was recovering from a crack cocaine addition 19 years ago, and the went into triathlons and eventually Iron Mans. He’s never run in his own race, something he plans to do in the future, but 11.2-km is easy compared to what he does at a regular competition.
Iron Man is a 3.8-km swim, a 180-km bike and a 42-km marathon, and he’s travelled to New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, China, Africa and the big race in Hawaii, just to name a few.
“I just did my 34th last month in Santa Rose, California,” Maillet said. “I’m fortunate enough that my body is holding up. It was all about replacing (the drugs) … Before it was an artificial high with the drugs.
“Now if I want to go get high, I got for swim, bike or run. It gets the endorphins going, but it gets them going naturally.
“When I was in rehab, they said one of the 10 people here will make it and the others will go back to the drug of choice. I found that running was my thing.”
