Band on the Run 2019: a truly community event

It was a beautiful day for a run. More than 1,000 participants gathered at the Canada Summit Centre on Saturday, June 8 for the eighth annual Band on the Run.

Following O Canada and a welcome from Mayor Scott Aitchison, the runners and walkers headed out in waves to complete one of the kids’ run, the half marathon, the 10k, or the 5k, accompanied by a crew of festively dressed volunteers.

Here’s the low-down on the event:

Band on the Run by the numbers

• $10,718.18 raised for Community Living Huntsville as of race day
• $2,647.24 raised by top group fundraiser Team Inclusion in Motion
• $903.57 raised by top individual fundraiser Kelly Lobsinger
• $1,010.80 donated by top donor the Firefighters’ Car Wash
• 1,043 finishers (not including the kids’ race) – you’ll find a list of the top finishers and a link to results below
• 46 participants received awards for being an inspiration to those around them (watch for more about them on Doppler soon!)
• 145 volunteers made it a great day for everyone
• Two co-organizers—Justine Brown and Rob Horton—backed by a crew of amazing people to pull it all together

And they’re off! The kids’ fun run, led by the rockin’ mobile cheer squad

Robots can race, too. Hoya Robotics brought their robot to the kids’ fun run.

Cottagers (from left) Lacey Potter, 11, Andrew Judson, 11, Alex Potter, 13, and Sara Judson 13 had such a great time in the kids’ fun run that next year they are going to attempt the 5k

Can we get a wave? Runners await the start of half marathon

Runners at the start of the 10k were asked to ‘look left, look right, and high five your neighbour’

The firefighters were back, running in full gear

Briana’s Bach on the Run: this bachlorette party featured the bride in a stroller thanks to a broken ankle

Sisters Wendy Murray, Jennifer Boothby and Sonya Robertson ran last year. This year, they made a team with their children Morgan Crewson, Makenna Millar and Avery Millar.

Behind-the-scenes superstars

“Band on the Run is truly a community event and would not be possible without a team of generous and awesome people,” said Justine Brown, event co-organizer with Rob Horton. “Things run as smoothly as they do because this team, many of whom have been stepping up for years, take wonderful initiative in getting their piece done and delivered exceptionally well.”

If you enjoyed the day in any way, here are the people (besides Justine and Rob) you can thank for that:

• Dan Watson and the Huntsville Festival of the Arts partnered to deliver the afternoon music festival
• Cherryll Demaine is the volunteer co-ordinator and in charge of “keeping us sane and on top of things,” says Brown
• Craig Nakamoto and the whole Berry-Nakamoto family are key to having the entire start/finish area run like a well-oiled machine
• Dave Cork and his daughter are a force of nature getting 60-plus barricades distributed all along the route and then collected again after the race
• Mike Varieur, Dave Gibson and Martha Lapp keep everything running smoothly out on the course—keeping the runners safe and going in the right direction, ensuring the aid stations are fully stocked and the volunteers are all taken care of and fed
• Ken and Marjorie Horton (Rob’s parents) have been teaming up with their friends the Culverwells for years to drive from Parry Sound for a 6 a.m. arrival in Huntsville to deliver all the generators and tents to each band location along the route and then pick them all up again when it’s all over
• Cindy Payne, in partnership with her cat, takes over 5,000 safety pins and puts them together in groups of fours and then tirelessly volunteers for every shift available
• Jane Wolfe leads her fearless team of cheerleading bikers on race day, keeping everyone smiling and moving. Those amazing costumes they wear—she has sewn them all!
• Madeline & Sebastian Horton (Justine and Rob’s children) “have become instrumental in their roles as volunteer captains and in being so perceptive in taking the initiative in how they can be helpful. Super-proud mom speaking here,” says Brown.
• Aidan McClung not only volunteers until long into the night the Friday before the race and then starts again at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning—running around, hauling heavy stuff—but then takes 19.5 minutes (!!) to run and WIN the 5k before diving straight back into volunteering until he is literally the last one to leave.
• Sully Sprathoff and his mom, Leigh Fettes, spent a couple of weekends touring the neighborhoods affected by full road closures, letting everyone know what to expect.
• Heather Buckwald has been volunteer captain for the participant packet pick-up for years and is one of the reasons it runs so smoothly
• Myke Malone came on board this year to drive the big u-Haul and make sure that all the supplies were in place for the aid stations. “Talk about feeling reassured we were in good hands!” says Brown
• Melissa Key, “our amazing co-founder of the event, was indispensable on Friday and Saturday in making everything run smoothly,” says Brown.

(From left) Jane Wolfe, Nicolle Howell, Jodi Fenton, Cheryl Dove, Deanna Lavigne, and Steve Norman were part of the Band on the Run 2019 rockin’ mobile cheer squad (Photo: Liz Rice)

Tonic Lane was one of the bands that kept runners motivated and entertained

And then there are the businesses and organizations that help everything run smoothly.

“In year eight we have developed some incredible relationships with professionals and services that are key to the success of the event,” says Brown. “The OPP do such a fantastic job. Our online registration company Race Roster send a team of volunteers to help out. Dana Bee at Chip Time Results always goes above and beyond to make the event a success. Frances Turk, our announcer, is spectacular! It doesn’t matter what you throw at her— she takes it in stride and puts a smile on everyone’s face. Andrew Elsdon has been our race photographer since day one. He captures the spirit of the event so perfectly and gets people to smile even as they are cresting one of our famous Muskoka hills. I also want to give a shout out to the maintenance crew at the Active Living Centre who were outstandingly helpful, including coming in an hour early for work on a Saturday morning. Fowler Construction has been donating the hundreds of pylons for this event since day one. Not only do they donate the pylons but they supply the crew that sets them all out an then picks them all up. And for the last few years have supplied the truck and driver to lead people through the partial road closure on Brunel to minimize any inconvenience for residents.”

Reactivate Muskoka provided some post-run relief

Finally there’s the beneficiary of the event’s fundraising, Community Living Huntsville.

“Community Living has been our charity partner for the last three years and they have been so wonderful to work with. They make Band on the Run part of their culture all year round with their Monday afternoon run/walks and their hair dying initiative,” says Brown.

“Honestly, these are just a few names of people that have given so much to make this event a success,” she adds. “There are so many people in our community that have generously volunteered for and sponsored this event. It is a community event that we hope to continue delivering for many years to come!”

Kevin Rows (left) and Kim Thompson walking in support of Community Living Huntsville (Photo: Liz Rice)

Top finishers (by category)

• • Half marathon, male
    Fernando Carvalho, Bradford, 01:21:24
    Jon Morton, Huntsville, 01:27:33
    Babila Edwin, Bracebridge, 01:31:06
  • Half marathon, female
    Tiff Lucia, Ottawa, 01:38:36
    Janet Adams, Barry’s Bay, 01:44:36
    Katelin Barkey, Huntsville, 01:44:44

Annie Cotnoir (left) and Rose Evans placed third and second (but really tied) in their age category in the Band on the Run 2019 half marathon (21.09 km). (Photo: Liz Rice)

• 10k, male
  Troy Cox, Huntsville, 37:35
  Dean VanHerpe, Mount Brydges, 40:14
  Andre Boudreault, Huntsville, 41:17
• 10k, female
  Fiona Whitby, Huntsville, 44:50
  Susan Stone, Toronto, 45:11
  Raylan Jamison, Huntsville, 45:59

Troy Cox (above left) and Fiona Whitby were the top finishers in the 10k

• 5k, male
  Aidan McClung, Huntsville, 19:30
  Elias Coles, Huntsville, 19:48
  Bryan Lambert, Kingston, 19:59
• 5k, female
  Darla Coles, Huntsville, 20:03
  Melanie Mar, Huntsville, 21:42
  Erin Fettes, North Bay, 2:21

(Above left) Aidan McClung, in addition to being a superstar volunteer, also finished first in the 5k. (Above right) Darla Coles was the top female finisher in the 5k; her son Elias placed second among the men.

• 5k walk, male
  Charlie Halverson, Sault Ste. Marie, 41:28
  Wayne Allison, Huntsville, 48:19
  Gord Gregory, Thessalon, 48:26
• 5k walk, female
  Becca Birnie, 34:14, Dwight
  Laura Knowlton, Kitchener, 34:30
  Kim Wadsworth, Whitby, 37:04

See full results for Band on the Run 2019 here.

Sherri-Lynn Cox and Jesse Cox

There’s an Algonquin Outfitters canoehead in every Band on the Run

Raise your hand if you’ve been here before. These people love Band on the Run so much that they’re doing it again.

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