December 6, 2007 – OTTAWA, ON – Organizers of the Ottawa Race Weekend have launched a new youth running series as part of their ongoing efforts to promote activity among Ottawa’s students. The Run Ottawa Youth Athletic Series, a new program introduced by Ottawa’s largest running event, will reward Ottawa runners (under 19) who participate in pre-selected community races over the course of the year, with two runners receiving a $1000 bursary.
“The Ottawa Race Weekend strongly believes that encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle among Canadian youth is an important part of our role in the community,” says Manny Rodrigues, elite athlete coordinator for the event, who came up with the idea of the series. “It’s not just about cultivating the talented runners that are out there, although that’s important too. We feel that this series promotes activity both from participatory and competitive aspects.”
The series kicks off with the Richmond 5K Road Race on January 20th, and will continue throughout the year with the Enbridge 5K, the MDS Nordion 5K, the MDS Nordion 10K, the Bushtukah Canada Day 5K Road Race, the TransCanada Run with the Champions 5K and the Rattle Me Bones 5K Funnybone Race.
A point system based on placement in these races will determine the winners, one male and one female, who will each receive a bursary of $1000 from the Ottawa Race Weekend. Athletes who participate in five of the seven races, regardless of their place, will receive a merchandise prize.
“It’s great to see the initiative the Ottawa Race Weekend is taking to promote the sport throughout the community,” said Joe DuVall of the National Capital Runners’ Association, and race director of three of the series races. “It is programs like these that are going to ensure the running community in Ottawa continues to grow and thrive and compete.”
Athletes are not required to register for the series, the Ottawa Race Weekend will collect results of all under-19 participants in the seven events and post standings on the Run Ottawa website.
“This is a great way for us to continue to support the sport at a grassroots level, while hopefully widening the net to attract non-competitive students to a higher activity level,” says Rodrigues. “And who knows…we might find our next Canadian champion in the process!”
About Ottawa Race Weekend
The Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada's premier running festival, combines competition, participation and fundraising to make a distinctive contribution to the health of the community. The 2007 Ottawa Race Weekend welcomed over 29,600 participants in six races, including the ING Ottawa Marathon and the MDS Nordion 10K. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors. The 2008 event is schedule for May 24th – 25th.
www.runottawa.ca.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
