Students from the Red Deer Catholic and Red Deer Public school divisions round the final bend before the finish line in the annual Dawe Run. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

44TH YEAR OF TRADITION

More than 5,000 students run the river valley in annual Dawe Run

Sep 17, 2024 | 1:12 PM

More than 5,000 students raced through Heritage Ranch and Bower Ponds in the 44th annual Dawe Run on September 17.

Every year, schools in the Red Deer Catholic and Red Deer Public divisions send their Grade 4-12 students to enjoy some fitness and the scenery of the river valley.

“The goal is to promote healthy living for our students, to have fun, and it’s a great community event,” said Braden Kilpatrick, principal of G. H. Dawe School. “When you come down to the finish line you see all the parents, and it’s a beautiful day so, let’s just have fun and get kids enjoying running or just being fit and healthy.”

This year, students took off from the field below Heritage Ranch and ran three kilometres of trail to the finish line at the Bower Ponds football field, where many parents cheered them on from the stands.

“It’s a pretty fun atmosphere and everyone’s happy and having a good time, and then once the race gets going, some kids take it really serious and they want to be in the top 10 or whatever their goal is, and there’s other students just hanging out with their buddies and going for a walk, enjoying the day.”

LAST SEEN SEPTEMBER 11

Missing: Troy Garrlock, 39, of Red Deer

1h ago

AUGUST 31 ENCOUNTER

Olds resident charged for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking

2h ago

Camp Alexo receives $10,000 donation from Direct Energy

19h ago

Kilpatrick has been principal at G. H. Dawe for five years.

“When I was a teacher I used to bring students down here, so we participated that way. It’s holding onto a legacy, or continuing to build a legacy in the Dawe Run, so it’s cool to keep that going,” he said.

G. H. Dawe students get practice for the run through the school’s Running Club, and the Dawe Run sets them up for the Terry Fox Run following in the next few weeks, Kilpatrick added.

Students push through the final leg of the Dawe Run with the finish line in site. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

—

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter by visiting rdnewsNOW.com. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app on Google Play and the Apple App Store for all the latest updates on this and other stories.