Hundreds of runners hit the street for Thunder Bay's 10 Mile Road Race

As Victoria Day dawned clear and cool, more than 500 runners competed in Thunder Bay's Fire Fighters 10 Mile Road Race — a race that's been run in the city for more than 110 years. 

The 16-kilometre race began Monday at 9 a.m. at the Donald and Simpson Street intersection, where participants ran to Marina Park and back, staying on the South core to Waterfront route. 

The Thunder Bay tradition began back in 1910 and has grown to be known as a highly significant sporting event in the Northwestern Ontario region. 

All participants wore race timing chips to accurately record the time taken to complete the race with cash rewards, up to $750 presented to various winners. 

Herb Daniher is the race director of the 10 Mile Road Race. As a past participant who has competed in the race about 20 times, he was passionate to get this beloved community event together again after a hiatus as a result of the pandemic, he said. 

"Some people get ready to go fishing on the May long weekend, I would get ready to go the 10 Mile Road Race.… If you're a part of the running community, this is sort of the core and this is the marquee event for the city." 

An inclusive community 

Individuals of all ages participated in the event with volunteers and spectators cheering them on as they ran the course. 

The main goal is to come out and give it a try, said Alan Cranston. Cranston has been announcer for the event for about 30 years with a history of running the race himself. 

He said he enjoys seeing the new faces come out, encouraging others, no matter their skill level, to just go for it. 

"The running community is just so inclusive in terms of, everyone is happy that somebody else has come out and started doing it." 

The 10 Mile Road Race was not the only distance race offered on Monday.  Young racers were given the opportunity to do a shorter stint of two miles (about 3.2 kilometres) against their peers. 

Angela Woodhouse-Wild is one of the volunteer co-ordinators of the relay race for the kids. 

 "It's really exciting for kids to be in a big deal race like this. I love seeing kids involved in sports because I think it really gives them a focus," Woodhouse-Wild said. 

The relay race is a good way to spark their interest about the running community and sport while they are young, she said. 

Everyone is a winner 

Although the race is not all about winning, a few competitors walked home with cash prizes and trophies today. 

Andrew Lehman, a runner on the Lakehead University's cross-country team, came in first in today's race. 

Lehman has been running for about six years. He enjoyed running among some of his university teammates in the race in the perfect weather conditions, he said. 

Another racer, Emma Vaillancourt, finished the course in about an hour. She was the first woman to cross the finish line. As a highly trained runner, she was confident going into the race, but was proud for her efforts on race day, she said, 

She loves the sport because of its versatility of accomplishments for participants. 

"You can do it at any level. Everybody's out here trying to better themselves, and trying to, you know, push their limits today," she said. "Whether you're first across the line or last, you've accomplished something huge."