When the pandemic
began in March, many Canadians figured we’d sit
tight a couple of weeks and this thing would blow over.
Fast forward nine months and COVID-19 is still an everyday
consideration. When race directors canceled their 2020
events, few considered the possibility of having to cancel
their 2021 events as well. However, as 2020 draws to a
close without an end to the pandemic in sight, RDs are
preparing for the possibility of two consecutive years
without races.
Michelle Kempton is the race director
of Maritime Race Weekend, which takes place annually in
September. The event runs in a small fishing village 10
minutes from Halifax, with the start and finish line beside
the ocean. Maritime Race Weekend has become an international
tourism event for Nova Scotia, but Kempton is concerned
about the race’s future. She explains that their
event is a registered not-for-profit (as many races in
Canada are) and that they don’t have a rainy-day
fund to draw upon. “Because we’re a not-for-profit,
we don’t carry over money, so at the end of our
year, we donate everything. When COVID hit, we’re
not in a situation where we have a huge nest-egg to draw
from.”
Kempton explains that beyond paying
their own bills, Maritime Race Weekend also donates to
local run groups to help them with funding. “We
help clubs in Nova Scotia by funding things like facility
rentals and insurance fees. We had no race this year,
so we couldn’t make a donation to them. Usually,
we give them thousands of dollars, so it’s not like
they don’t miss that cash.”
Kempton also explains that MRW
has bills regardless of whether they put the race on,
like website maintenance and equipment storage. “Now
we’re not even sure we’ll be able to run our
2021 event, and we have bills to pay either way. We now
need the help of the running community to keep the lights
on.”
How runners can help
Maritime Race Weekend has launched several efforts to
raise funds for themselves and their running community,
including a summer camp with training plans and coaches,
a summertime virtual race and the upcoming New Year’s
Day Reboot Run. “For the Reboot Run, we’re
charging money, but participants will be mailed race kits.”
On top of the Reboot Run, MRW is
doing a 50/50 fundraiser, which is only open to Nova Scotians.
Race directors hope to be back
in full force as soon as possible, but for now, if runners
are looking to help keep their favourite event afloat
they can do so by racing virtually, buying merch and participating
in fundraisers.
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