Grade 5 teacher at École Camille J. Lerouge School Sandra Meadows (centre) with students at Dawe Run on Tuesday at Heritage Ranch. (rdnewsNOW/ Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Back-to-school tradition

Nearly 5,000 students from Grade 4-12 join for Red Deer’s Dawe Run

Sep 20, 2022 | 4:24 PM

Students were gathering by the hundreds at Heritage Ranch on Tuesday for the return of the Dawe Run; a back-to-school staple in Red Deer.

A 40-year tradition, the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools announced this year’s Dawe Run would include nearly 5,000 students from Grades 4-12 after a two year hiatus from the pandemic. On September 20, the students ran and walked from Heritage Ranch (6300 Cronquist Dr.) along the paved path to Bower Ponds.

READ: Dawe Run is back after a two year hiatus

Sandra Meadows, Grade 5 teacher at École Camille J. Lerouge School, believes the run is a good reminder for the students of Terry Fox’s legacy.

“It’s very inspirational what he [Terry Fox] did so it’s good for the students to be able to follow his example as well as good for them to see a community effort for exercise and running. It’s a fun thing for them to do to start the year off,” she said.

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“I’m really excited to see a bunch of my friends at the other school and I think it’s really cool how Red Deer puts this event together for kids,” said Ashlynn Kletke, hockey player and Grade 5 student from École Camille J. Lerouge School.

“I hope to get more speed out of this run and to be faster,” said Alyce Gregory, fast ball player and Grade 5 student at the same school. When asked why the run was important to students, Gregory replied, “To support Terry Fox and everything he did.”

Having attended the run for roughly the past 15 years, Meadows says the energy has not wavered among students as they learn how to set goals and work towards achieving them.

“I know I have some students who are training and doing a lot of running in preparation for this event. It’s fun for students at this age; each year they can improve,” she said. “I think it’s a good goal for these kids to show us that we should also create goals for ourselves, specifically around exercise, to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones and get more active.”

“I’m going to run at the start and then I’m going to start jogging to bring back some stamina and then go back to running,” said Hudson Noahbell, Grade 5 student at École Camille J. Lerouge School. “I’m trying to win mostly because my brother won once and I feel like I kind of want to do it so I can brag about it.”

The run is hosted by the G.H Dawe School, responsible for the finish line, and St. Patrick’s Community School, responsible for the starting point.

Connor Johnston, Physical Education teacher at St. Patrick’s and part of the event’s organizing committee, believes the run is a great way to introduce new students from different provinces and countries to Red Deer’s trail system and for kids to enjoy the outdoors.

“The best part is not just about being able to compete, it’s about being outside and being active and being able to hopefully carry that into your life moving forward,” he said. “Keeping your body in good shape and keeping your mind in good shape.”

“I hope that every single Grade 5 has a good time,” said student Seth Githu, “because if you don’t have a good time then you don’t run fast.”