Runners make their way out of the gate to kickoff the Titanium Half Marathon, 10 km and 5 km runs on Saturday morning at Bud Miller All Seasons Park. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
With over 300 runners registered in last weekend’s Titanium Half Marathon, it’s safe to say Border City residents are excited to be back outside.
The Titanium Half Marathon, 10 km, 5 km, and kids’ race, put on by Midwest Endurance, were hosted last Saturday at Bud Miller All Seasons Park with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
“This is definitely our biggest year so far with just over 300 runners to start, which is great,” said one of the organizers, Chris Bogue.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather, too.”
But it wasn’t just the weather that had runners flocking to the park. Bogue also noted two years of COVID restrictions had people chomping at the bit to return to normal.
“If anybody had a look at the community schedule, you’d see just how many different things are going on in and around Lloyd today,” said Bogue.
“To still get the numbers we did on such a busy weekend, the whole town is alive and happy to be able to be back outside doing things like this again.”
Midwest Endurance is the brainchild of Bogue and Lloydminster runner Mackenzie Brown. The two teamed up with Titanium Energy Services to bring the run to the Border City.
“Titanium Energy Services and ourselves paired up ‘a bunch’ of years ago and decided to come up with a good chip-timed event for Lloydminster,” said Bogue.
“We’re offering 21 km, 10 km and 5 km distances today and we have all kinds of people out today.
“The kid’s race is a 1 km run and we have between 60 and 80 kids registered for that. It’s also a fan favourite as it gets the kids out and more involved in the sport.”
Bogue also wanted to thank the day’s sponsors as the run wouldn’t be what it is today without the support of community partners.
“We have Prairie Lily out here handing out coffees getting everyone woken up in the morning. Go To Athletic Therapy is here to help, and PureREVIVAL Massage Therapy and Wellness is always a big sponsor and supporter for us,” he said.
“There’s a laundry list of local companies and organizations that help us put this one every year including Eye Expressions Optical, Bar Engineering, Altra, Brainsport, Michael Davison and family, Sheepskin Loft, Brixton Shoes and Accessories, BearBum Septic, The Tent Guys, Game on Safety, Piece of Love and Muscles and More.”
The day’s MC was none other than Lloydminster’s Mike Welygan, better known in the running community as Mikey Dubz.
One of Saturday’s runners was the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation’s CEO, Stephanie Munro, who said she wanted to participate to show her support for a group that’s helped the health foundation over the years.
“I really wanted to support the community in any way I could, and this running community supported the health foundation so much with our livestream in 2021, and I wanted to step up and lead by example,” she said.
“As the lead of this organization, I’m going to be involved in everything I can in our community, and two years ago when Mikey ran for 12 hours straight, it inspired me back then to get more active, take care of your mental health, but also, take care of your physical health as well.”
Funds raised from the race go right back into the running community through events put on by Midwest Endurance.
“The funding goes right back into Mackenzie and my company, Midwest Endurance, and we put it back into our Couch to 5km programs, our beer runs that we use for pointed fundraising for various local events,” said Bogue.
“We put the funding back into the company to build on what we’ve started, but also to be able to offer a premium experience.”
