Sarnia Roadrunners still going strong after 43 years

Barry Wright Members of the Sarnia Roadrunners Association have run countless thousands of kilometers since the group’s inception in 1971.

Barry Wright

Members of the Sarnia Roadrunners Association have run countless thousands of kilometers since the group’s inception in 1971.

“We’ve had kids as young as three running – with their parents of course – all the way up to runners in who are 75 plus,” said president Glen Crawford.

Runners do one and three kilometre runs each month and alternate between a five and a 10k run every other month, all at Canatara Park.

“Our racing season runs from March to November,” Crawford said.

The Roadrunners host a Christmas Fun Run for the Inn of the Good Shepherd in December, a Resolution Run on New Year’s Day and a Valentine’s Day Theme Run in mid-February.

The club has been around long enough that it now has children running with their grandparents.

Terry Taylor and Veronica Coleman are the senior members. Both hold age-group records with the Roadrunners.

Taylor broke the three kilometre record for athletes over 75 this past April, after setting the records for the five and 10k events in the same age group last year.  Coleman holds a handful of records set from 2008-12.

More runners come out in the warm weather months, but Crawford says they seldom dip below 25 participants, and there’s been a spike in the number of kids over the past couple of years.

Some members have taken their talents to the marathons in Boston, Chicago and Detroit, Crawford said.

The Roadrunners hold their annual banquet Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. at Stokes Bay and it’s there a variety of trophies will be handed out, including Runner of the Year.

Membership in the not-for-profit organization is $35, and $45 for a family, while non-members can run for $3 per race.

More information can be found online at www.sarniaroadrunners.com