Toronto (Wednesday, September 24, 2008) – At this weekend’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the elite runners of the Brooks Canada Marathon Project (BCMP) will be racing for more than just a personal best or a berth at next summer’s World Championships in Berlin. For every five seconds the athletes run under their current best times, Brooks Canada will donate one pair of shoes to members of the KidsFest Running and Reading Club, an after-school program targeting literacy and physical activity in inner-city schools. BCMP athletes James Nielsen, Mike Booth and James Gosselin, part of a team of Canadian long-distance runners who live and train together in Toronto, will aim to lower their current bests of 2:21:01, 2:23:39 and 2:28:09 respectively. To raise awareness for the program, they will run the 42.2 kilometer event with the KidsFest logo on their singlets.
The KidsFest Running and Reading Club was launched in Scarborough in 2004 under the direction of 1984 Olympic marathoner Silvia Ruegger, who still holds the Canadian women’s marathon record. The club aims to increase literacy and physical activity among socio-economically disadvantaged children, meeting in inner city schools for two hours each week. Children build strength and endurance through running and fitness activities, receive individualized tutoring in reading, and are provided with a nutritious snack. In Toronto, there are currently 300 children involved in the KidsFest Running and Reading program at five schools. Shoes “raised” by BCMP athletes in the marathon will go to children involved in the program at North Kipling Junior Middle School in Toronto’s west end and Pauline Johnson Public School in Scarborough. The goal is to send at least 100 pairs of shoes into the KidsFest program.
James Gosselin, originally from Timmins, Ont., who was the top Canadian at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland this past March, holds the softest personal best of 2:28:09 and is capable himself of raising 100 pairs of shoes for the children involved in the program if he has a good run. “As a teacher, running for KidsFest at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a way for me to combine my two passions, running and education. The Running and Reading program offers these children huge benefits, in both the short and long term. Children are the future and if we can give them the tools they need now to succeed, there is no reason why they can't succeed later in life with the confidence and belief that they too can achieve their goals.”
For James Nielsen, of St. Thomas, Ont., running for the charity will be an incentive to keep pushing when the fatigue sets in. “It will be exciting to be racing the last 10k of the marathon knowing that every five seconds faster that I can possibly run will result in another child being able to receive a pair of shoes. That's all the motivation I need.”
For more information regarding the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, go to: www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com.
About KidsFest: Dedicated to enriching the lives of children who live in poverty, KidsFest equips them with the educational tools necessary to break the cycle of generational poverty and become valuable contributors within their respective communities. KidsFest forms strong lasting partnerships with businesses, schools and community groups to provide high impact programs improving academic achievement, physical fitness and social interaction, enabling each child to reach their full potential. KidsFest Running and Reading clubs are offered in eight cities and three First Nations communities coast-to-coast across Canada, with close to 900 children participating. For more about KidsFest, please visit: www.kidsfestonline.com.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
