ICO Participates in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2015
On October 18, 2015, over 20,000 people took part in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, half marathon and 5K races, raising over 3 million dollars for charities. Inner City Outreach was happy to be included as one of the official charities with 28 people selecting to run for ICO and raising over $4000 in support.
I am not going to lie. It was cold that morning, and pretty dark still, as we set out to join the many people that would converge on the Toronto downtown area. It was the first time many of us had done anything like this. What would it be like? Could we finish? How cold would it be?
We were a little nervous, finding our way to the long line leading to the shuttle that would take us to the starting line. But the camaraderie kicked in as we began to find one another in the line, those who had decided to run on behalf of Inner City Outreach, and the nervousness turned to excitement. We were going to do this! Months of training and enlisting financial sponsorship were going to pay off.
For those of us running the 5K, we began at Exhibition Place, running along the waterfront until we hit Bay Street, continuing up to the finish line at Nathan Philips Square where we were met with fanfare. After receiving our medals, we congratulated one another, and waited to receive the runners who had chosen to run the half marathon. One-by-one we came in, brimming with a sense of accomplishment and pride. We did it! Everyone was a winner, as our medals testified, because we had overcome the distance set before us and crossed the finish line.
The run was an overwhelming success: it was a enjoyable experience for those who ran, it provided an opportunity to share with others the important work that ICO is doing, and it raised funds that will help bring positive change to Toronto’s inner city.