Nearly 190 runners helped a YMCA fundraiser land Friday evening at the airport in Sarnia.
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Launched 11 years ago in London, Jordan’s Run the Runway expanded this year to Sarnia and Chatham to raise funds in those communities to help remove financial barriers for children, families and seniors to take part in YMCA programs.
“Sarnia has been such a huge supporter of this,” Christina Harley, vice-president of development for the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario, said after a one-km run for kids had finished and a five-km event for adults had begun.
Both events were held on the runway at the Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport.
“They opened their arms here at the airport,” Harley said.
The fundraiser, which has raised more than $1 million since it began, is named for London’s Jordan Strickland, a camper at YMCA Camp Queen Elizabeth who passed away unexpectedly in 2014 in a car accident.
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His mother, Janice Strickland, ran in the Sarnia event. His father, Paul Strickland, said, “I think it’s a wonderful event and I’m really proud it’s going on.”
Sarnia’s run raised $18,450. It followed Chatham’s on Sept. 13 which raised nearly $15,000, and London’s which raised $144,000 on Sept. 20.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people here and I just think this is going to bloom,” Strickland said about the Sarnia run. “I think Chatham will do just fine.”
Judy Jones of Corunna and other members of a local running group dressed up to take part in Sarnia’s run.
“It’s a good cause and this is so exciting to see in Sarnia,” she said.
“All the fundraising we do for this one, it stays local,” said Joe Cebulski, regional manager with the YMCA. “It helps our kids in our community get to do things like camp, swim lessons and really just make sure they’re taking part in recreation.”
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He said community support for the run “has been incredible” and “we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Volunteers included members of Lambton College’s men’s basketball team who helped set up an inflatable starting arch and then welcomed in, and cheered on, runners as they crossed the finish line.
James Grant, 15, was first across the finish line in the five-km run with a time of 16:15, just ahead of Shawn Master.
“I liked the fact it was open (and) you could see everything,” Grant said. “I enjoyed it a lot. The people here were so nice.”
Grant is a student at Lambton Central Collegiate in Petrolia where he runs track and cross-country, and is also with the Athletics Southwest track and field club in Sarnia.
“It’s my life, pretty much,” he said.
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