A group of 26 runners from the Estevan area jointly covered 8,000 kilometres of the virtual Big Canada Run in just over three months.
The run began on July 1 at St. John's and was completed Oct. 11, with participants finishing at Victoria. While participants didn't need to go anywhere to accomplish their goal, they had an opportunity to learn something about Canada when they were logging their kilometres online.
Unlike the virtual badges the team was collecting along the way, the final medal is real and is now on its way to Estevan. Once it arrives, the team will find a way to celebrate their success. However, participants say that the main satisfaction comes from just running as a team and from reaching the goal.
"It kept me focused and accountable," said Audrey McMurchy, who organized the local team.
She added that the challenge turned runners into a stronger team. It also brought up some patriotic feelings since along the way it would highlight Canada's greatest attractions, values and traditions. On top of that, McMurchy said that through this virtual run she was able to meet some new people from other parts of Canada and the world, and one person from Ontario even joined the Estevan Road Runners for their runs virtually.
"It's opened up some doors for friendship and comradery," said McMurchy.
While running is just a part of life for the Estevan Road Runners, when participating in the Big Canada Run a lot of them noticed that they were pushing harder to reach the common goal.
"Usually at this time of the year, as the colder weather sets in, I would be dropping back a little bit on running and maybe working out more at the gym. But I definitely kept a little bit more consistent with my running even on the cooler days, whether it was windy or not I made a point to get outside and get a run and log it, which I might not have done on those colder windy days if we weren't participating in the challenge," said team member Tamara Stephany.
Another runner, Fred Sheldon, also added that he noticed a similar rise in motivation.
"I think the contest itself motivated a lot of our members to log in a lot more kilometres per week than they normally had been before that. It was a really great concerted group effort," said Sheldon, admitting that he also added a few kilometres to his routine especially closer to the end of the challenge.
Proactive Estevan runners started a new challenge before they finished the Big Canada Run. Stephany organized it, and it will run from Oct. 1 until Dec. 31.
"We created our local challenge group," said Stephany. "There are four different options for participants. It's a monitor-your-own challenge, but everybody in the group is participating in some way and we are all encouraging each other and motivating."
Many challengers will end this activity by participating in a five-kilometre Resolution Run through the Running Room on Jan. 1.
If people are looking to join the challenge, which goes by time or distance, or want to find some running buddies, they can contact Estevan Road Runners through their Facebook page.
Stephany added that participating in a challenge is a great way to stay motivated and keep up with fitness goals through the pandemic and the winter months.
"COVID and the shutdown have affected a lot of people differently, and I would just encourage people if they are feeling isolated or not motivated that there are easy ways to form a group like this ... We all come together, motivate and support each other. And it's been good for not only our physical health but our mental health," said Stephany.
The Estevan Road Runners group was organized by Sheldon, Michella Prokop and Vanessa Marcotte. Sheldon recalled how a subgroup of like-minded people came together and decided to create a Facebook group, forming a local network for runners to rely on for support, motivation and socializing.
"This way we could (keep it together) for people that wanted to come along with us or run at various locations," said Sheldon.
McMurchy believes it's a great opportunity for everyone who appreciates running to get more motivated, have even a greater time on their walks or runs, doing so along with others, and also get advice when it comes to equipment, sports attire, recipes, running locations and much more.
"Anybody is welcome to join, and they don't have to commit to anything if they don't want to," said McMurchy, adding that in the past just watching the group participants' updates motivated her to become more active and start walking regularly.
And challenges such as Big Canada Run only add to the beauty of the runs.
"I love the challenge. I'm definitely a goal-oriented person and having a challenge to participate in and having others depend on me or cheering (me), definitely kept me motivated," said Stephany.
"It gave all of us a sense of accomplishment and some completion for that," said Sheldon adding that it also motivated them to look into more challenges for the future.
