Store gears up for diabetes run
Crew hoping to build awareness with good turnout for annual event
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, May 22, 2014
INUVIK
Come June 14, Inuvik residents will let their feet do their talking when it comes to diabetes.
Sheheryar Khan, left, Marie-Claire Savoie, Matthew Clark, Shelly Firlotte and David Grazelle are preparing for a diabetes run sponsored by NorthMart June 14. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
|
That's when the second North West Run for Diabetes will take place, courtesy of the North West Company and the NorthMart chain.
Store manager Matthew Clark has big hopes the run will become as much of a community event as a sporting challenge.
He is a diabetic, although he's not dependent on insulin injections, unlike a sibling, who has to perform self-injections four times a day.
"It's something that's front and centre for me," Clark said May 20. "Diabetes, as you know, is an ongoing concern in the country and certainly in the North where the prevalence is getting more and more."
The North West Company has traditionally run a fall campaign to raise money for the Canadian Diabetes Foundation for research and patient care, but the Run for Diabetes is something just introduced last year.
"We have paired with the Canadian Diabetes Association as one of our main charities, and for many, many years we've been fundraising for them with a variety of events," he said. "One of the struggles, though, is that you raise this money in the North and then we don't do anything in the North."
Over the last 10 years, the North West Company has raised $2.5 million for diabetes work, Clark said. The company is reinvesting some of the money into local programs and awareness campaigns with the Run for Diabetes.
"The idea is to take some of those funds and use it to build awareness in the community," he said.
"Three years ago, we decided we should do more things in the communities, and two years ago we decided to try the run in three stores. Last year, it was 97 stores, and the aim of course is to have 100 per cent of the stores doing something."
The run, which is non-competitive, offers routes up to 10 kilometres long for serious runner, Clark said, and a shorter five-kilometre distance for more casual walkers and runners. A one-kilometre course will be marked for children.
"We tried to make it into an afternoon event, and I think we were the most successful one in terms of making into an event," he said. "We really reached out last year, and we're doing similar things this year.
"It's about having a chance to educate and talk about the issues," he added.
Everyone will receive a T-shirt and a medal for participating, and Clark is hoping to have a local dignitary on hand to help out, such as Mayor Floyd Roland.
There's also a chance that a North West Company vice-president might fly in to participate.
Last year, Inuvik-Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses ran in the race.
The route is likely to be the same as in 2103, passing by the legion on Veteran's Way and winding through town up to Marine Bypass Road via Navy Road.
