HALIFAX – The 12th annual Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon takes place in Halifax in a month. But, weather has taken a toll on training for the event – and registration is down. Organizers say they aren’t worried – yet.
Runners and joggers have been longing for days like today: sunny skies and warm temperatures. They’ve had to deal with including icy sidewalks and roads since January, making it difficult to train for the Blue Nose Marathon.
“We might be down about 5 per cent at this stage of the game,” said marathon co-chair, Gerry Walsh. “We’re attributing it, we believe, to the weather – the treacherous running conditions which we’ve had over the winter.”
The Blue Nose has grown from 35-hundred it’s first year, to a peak of 14-thousand a couple of years ago. Walsh says the lack of training has forced some marathon and half marathon runners to change their events.
“A lot of those runners are now opting for the 5 and the 10-K,” said Walsh.
Half Marathon runner Jill Ritchie, who was training at Point Pleasant Park, agreed with Walsh. “My son for one was planning on training and he didn’t get out early enough, so yeah there’s been a few,” said Ritchie, who added, “I’m sticking to the half.”
Ritchie, like many runners was putting on the push today. “We’ve been on the treadmill lots because obviously it was like an obstacle course out there,” she said.
Donovan Nickerson is bucking the trend. He’s run the 10-K in past Blue Nose events, but he’s stepping up to the half marathon.
“I go to Dalhousie, so I run inside there at the Dalplex,” said Nickerson, “and other than that it’s been really tough to run outside.”
There’s also a need for more volunteers. “We can run the event on 14-to-18-hundred. We have about 600 volunteers spots registered,” said the Co-chair of volunteer services, Heather MacDonald.
“We’re really focusing on inclusion this year, so if there’s someone with a special need or someone with a disability – please, please come out and give it a try,” she said.
Shala Rennehan is switching from a 10-K runner to volunteer. “I’m going to be the person handing out the medallions,” said Rennehan, “Mainly because of weather I don’t feel trained enough so I decided to volunteer my time instead.”
MacDonald says there’s a lot of benefits as a Blue Nose volunteer. “There’s the smiles, the laughter that volunteers have and the ability to meet new people,” said MacDonald, “and to be engaged in such a way is pretty phenomenal.”
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