The 12th Melfort Multi-K on Saturday, Sept. 16 saw a perfect day for the annual event which has become a September tradition in the community.
According to Race Director Allison Rogers, the turnout was great for the event which includes a 1K, 5K, 10K and 21.1K half marathon.
“It went really well, we had probably one of the better attendances. I always measure the event a little bit more based on who actually comes on the day versus how many are registered. So we had about an 88 per cent turnout. So that was really good. It’s nice to see that we get to that good turnout on the day and a beautiful weather day going out,” Rogers said.
Rogers said that the weather was absolutely perfect.
“Once again, just an amazing committee that puts together everything ran very smoothly. Had lots of positive comments at the end and a new course record was set,” Rogers said.
Curtis Glanville finished first in the 21.1 K Half Marathon with a time of one hour, 20.24 to set a new course record, and his brother Joel Glanville was second with a time of one hour, 23.31.
The previous record was set in 2012 by Mark Rolfes from Birch Hills.
“So pretty, pretty impressive. Then the next closest was back in 2012, I think at 1.25. So they quite handily beat that course record,” Rogers said.
The weather was also great, which helped with race times according to Rogers.
“It was a beautiful day, like hardly any wind temperature was cool, but not too cold. And it’s a flat course right so you can really fly around the course if you know what you’re doing. So that was good.”
The records and the race have never been the focus of the event.
“It’s just about getting everybody out there, and enjoying the day and being with friends and family and doing something healthy and that’s always been the motivation for all of it. So some people take it serious, some people don’t. It was a great day overall,”
The 1K Kids run is always free and sees children start the morning off each year.
“There is actually a few people who got grandkids now who were there for the first time with their grandkids running in the 1 K, which is always a big thank you to Castle Building Supply, Tanya and Greg Chester support that event and make it free for the kids and it’s that’s the best part of the morning they’re so excited to take off and then so proud of themselves when they come across,” Rogers said.
With the Multi-K in year 12 participants from the 1K have graduated to the 5K and the 10K.
“So it’s good to see that continues on even past that 1K,” Rogers said.
One example was 9-year-old Paisley Rolheiser who placed second in the women’s category for the 5K, with 13-year-old Jessa Kovacs placing second and 57-year-old Sheila Long from British Columbia finishing third.
“So it was it was pretty incredible to see those two fly in. And then you don’t necessarily expect the young ones to come in first for the female,” Rogers said.
The first-place male, Ryan Yaworski, finished in 19 minutes.
“So, she’s not too far off of that speed. So it’s pretty cool to see,” Rogers said.
This is the 12th event with only 2020 being run vitually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We lost that one but that’s the 12th year. We’re thankful to be back on the course. We missed that one year in 2020, but we’ve been able to come back since and this year without any restriction of any sort. So that was good,” Rogers said.
The City of Melfort continues to be a great supporter of the Multi-K and there are several volunteers who continue to support the event.
“Just a big thank you to the city of Melfort, we could not do the event without them. Thank you to all of our sponsors from time and time again continue to support the event without question. So that’s amazing. And then our volunteers, we over the course of three days have probably close to 100 people who help out in some area getting ready for or on the day and that’s huge too,” Rogers said.
The event is also always well supported by people both in Melfort and outside of Melfort.
“And a big thank you to everybody keeps coming out you know there’s always a moment when you open that registration and think, oh God, this is the year we might not get a good turnout. And it hasn’t happened yet. So we’re pretty lucky to continue to have that support in the community that they want to continue participating,” Rogers said.
She explained that several families turn the event into a chance to have family get-togethers.
“There’s numerous families that it’s a family event that they come home for every year so that’s that’s pretty cool to see too,” she said.
