RBC Race for the Kids, What You Need to Know

To start off, this is going to be different than my other race reports as I didn’t race the 15K. Also, disclaimer, I was an ambassador of the race alongside a ton of amazing folks and I totally suggest you all go through the #RBCRaceForTheKids hashtag and check out what went down! Anyways, here’s a little “What You Need to Know” about the race so you can sign up before it sells out next year!

The Cause/Fees

The race is technically free. That’s right, free. All they ask of you is the try and raise $100 ($40 if you are under 17) for Sunnybrook’s Family Navigation Project. More than two million young people in Canada are struggling with a mental health issue, yet only one in five will get the specialized treatment they need. The Sunnybrook Family Navigation Project are there to help ensure that their needs are met.

Distances

The race traditionally covers three distances, 5K, 7K, and 15K. I ran the 15K and I’m going to be honest with you: there were hills. A lot of them. And you know how I feel about hills! While I had a ton of fun pacing Allison, I would have probably cried a little if I was racing the 15K!

For the 15K, I counted around 5 water stations. One of them were a bit after 2K mark for the 5K race and 7K course.

This race is walker friendly, child/stroller friendly, and dog friendly. Imagine my surprise when turning into the last 2K of the 15K where the 15 merges with the 5K and I saw dog after dog after dog. I was like a dog seeing squirrels! There were so many of them and it was such a fun experience.

Photo courtesy of Matt Small

Getting There

This race is on a Saturday so luckily, this means the the subway has been running since 6AM. You can take the subway to North York Central station and just cross the street when you get out to Mel Eastman Square. Easy peasy lemon squeezey. There’s also parking at the mall across the street if you choose the drive.

The Swag

You get an awesome race shirt with your race kit. While the kit itself isn’t filled with a lot of things, that is because the event itself is where the swag is! After finishing the race, there is a grilled cheese station, a coffee station, a cookie station, a pastry station, breakfast sandwiches, and chocolate milk being handed out and more! There were also tents from Clif Bar, Cedar Cold Press Juice, and more. It was honestly a pretty spectacular thing to see as you know the usual routine of “here’s a unripe banana and a hard bagel” you get after a race is just so ingrained in us runners that all these goodies was a bit of a shock to me. I literally went “THERE ARE PASTRIES?!” as I went by the tent. There is also entertainment for both adults and kids after the race on the stage.

Overall

Overall, it was a great event. I enjoyed seeing entire families out at the race, doing the distances together or just hanging out by the stage afterwards watching the event while snacking on the  pastries. Major thanks to all the volunteers who woke up early to help out, the sponsors, and of course, RBC Race for the Kids themselves. Hopefully I’ll see you all again next year.

QOTD: Did you race over the weekend? How do you feel about free grilled cheese? LOL!

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