The weather was damp but spirits were high here as the Alma Optimists held their second annual Roadkill Race for Muscular Dystrophy.
Organizer Jim Debock said on Monday the club raised over $4,200 and might even have made some money for the club, too.
DeBock said that John Fines, all by himself, raised $1,800 in sponsorships for the event.
There were three different race events in which people could participate.
The first was a 1km walk or run, with organizers presenting everyone with a medal for completing the course.
Then, the real runners took to the track.
In the 10km race and walk, the winners were:
– Thomas Wantenaar, with a time of 47 minutes and 20 seconds;
– Glen Norcliffe, 47:35; and
– Andrew Campbell, at 48:34.
In the 5km race and walk, the top three were:
– Kathryn John, 24:46;
– Dave Geddes, 26:05;
and
– George Duquette, 35:47.
Oscar Dumpe, 87, was the oldest walker. He completed in the 1km event.
When asked why the race had such an odd name, DeBock said the club used that to encourage interest. He said it was similar to the annual Plunger Plop held in Alma, which attracts interest just by its name. He said such a name provides “a little bit of an edge.”
He also noted that the club decided to provide the money its raises to fight MS because, for some reason, there are a lot of people in Waterloo-Wellington who suffer from MS.
The atmosphere was a festive one, with music blaring, a view stands full, and lots of people cheering on the walkers and runners.
DeBock said that everything at the event was donated, from the ambulance service that used its siren to cheer people on, to the DJ and the music.
