Registration now open for May 11 event
The Lockport River’s Edge Run is back for another year, with this year’s event raising money for Huntington’s disease initiatives. The event takes place on May 11—during Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month—and organizers are calling on the community to support the cause.
“We need you, and we need your assistance. We want to make this a good event for everybody,” said Vern Barrett, race director and president of the Manitoba chapter of the Huntington Society of Canada.
“Huntington’s is like having ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s all at once, so people have cognitive and neurological loss, it affects muscles, it affects memory, and there’s no treatment or cure. But what we can do is we can provide the absolute best care for people with Huntington’s that we can possibly manage.”
Huntington’s disease is a hereditary, neurodegenerative illness with physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms, as described on the Huntington Society of Canada’s website. It’s a rare disease—about 1 in 7,000 people in Canada have Huntington’s.
About 50 years ago, Barrett and his wife found out his wife’s aunt had Huntington’s disease.
“We had no idea it was in the family, and after that, we became involved and started to fundraise for the resource centre [at Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg] for people with Huntington’s disease to go to get support and care from a neurologist, speech therapist and so on. We’ve been involved for well over 50 years because of this connection,” Barrett said.
“One phone call [to the resource centre], and they get connected with everybody they need to talk to. It’s a wonderful site, an amazing thing in Canada.”
Barrett has a fundraising goal of $20,000. As of April 15, more than $3,700 has been raised through the event’s web page (raceroster.com/events/2024/86109/lockport-rivers-edge-run-walk-for-hd-2024).
Participants can register to complete the 30-kilometre run, half-marathon run (21 kilometres), 10-kilometre run/walk or 5-kilometre run/walk.
The event takes participants down River Road between Lily Drive, just north of Skinner’s, and Larter’s at St. Andrews Golf and Country Club. Depending on the distance the participant registers for, they will see a portion or all of this route.
“We’re hoping runners and walkers from various parts of the province will come and enjoy this wonderful space,” Vern said.
Full event information and registration forms are available on the Race Roster website (raceroster.com/events/2024/86109/lockport-rivers-edge-run-walk-for-hd-2024). Registration fees increase in price on April 20.
“The Manitoba community has always been there for us, and we would sure appreciate their support with this event. It’s really easy to participate,” Barrett said. “It would be great to see them out and help us and help the community.”
4L Communications in Selkirk is the title sponsor of the event. The company has sponsored the event in past years when the run/walk raised money for neurofibromatosis initiatives.
“It’s such a great event. The location is incredible,” said Lars Koop of 4L, who has participated in the event with his family.
“Even if it’s your very first run, and you’re going to sign up for the 5K, there’s such little pressure because the track, the scenery and the route are so beautiful, that you forget that you’re competing or you’re trying to beat your pace or something like that because it’s just enjoyable, and there’s probably no better run for someone who’s going to do it for their first time.”
