The Melfort Multi-K has lasted 15 races with a simple goal: get people moving and bring the community together.
For Allison Rogers, who has been involved from the beginning, the event’s success also comes down to the people who continue to volunteer, participate and cheer.
Runners, walkers and spectators gathered in Melfort on Sept. 19 for this year’s Multi-K. For Rogers, it was also her final event as race director.
Her involvement began when she was home full time with two young boys and looking for something outside the house that could be her own.
Dr. Richard van der Ross, a physician in Melfort at the time, had an idea for an event that would give his patients and the community something to work toward. He asked Rogers to join the committee.
“It was really just, I was looking for something that could be just for me and not just at home with the kids,” Rogers said.
Her role gradually grew, and by the second or third year she had taken on much of the work of race director.
Organizers hoped for 100 or 200 participants at the first Multi-K. More than 400 registered.
Registration was done on paper, money was collected in cash and participant information had to be entered manually.
“We were shocked at the support through sponsorship and just people participating,” Rogers said. “It was a bit of a whirlwind because none of us had ever organized something like that.”
This year, Rogers said seeing familiar faces arrive for race package pickup made her final Multi-K feel real.
“Probably once we started to have people pick up packages and we started to see familiar faces that we’ve seen 15 years in a row, I think that started to make it a little bit more real,” she said.
She said race morning went quickly, but the number of people who came to watch and cheer stood out.
“It’s just great to see the community supporting people achieving these goals of theirs to participate in the event,” Rogers said.
That support has also helped keep the Multi-K going.
Organizers have tried to keep registration affordable, and Rogers said the event is not focused on making money. When money is available to give back, the committee supports programs connected to health and fitness.
Special Olympics participants can take part for free. The Multi-K has also supported local swimming, soccer and minor football programs and established a Jeff Gendall Memorial Scholarship for a Grade 12 student.
“It’s a community event, so we should support the community because they support us,” Rogers said.
For Rogers, the idea of giving back started long before the Multi-K.
She said both of her parents volunteered while she was growing up. Her father helped with her band program, worked bingos to raise money and volunteered with the Humane Society.
“You get back what you give,” Rogers said. “If you want a good strong community you need to make it a good strong community.”
Rogers said one of the things she has learned over the years is how much time people are willing to give without expecting anything in return.
Committee members spend hours organizing the event, while volunteers and sponsors help make race day possible.
“They do it purely for the feeling of providing this event to the community and what it means to be able to see what it means to so many people,” she said.
Rogers has also watched participants grow with the event.
Children who started in the 1K have moved into longer distances. Some have gone on to compete for their schools, and Rogers said one former 1K participant eventually completed the 21-kilometre distance.
Some families have made Multi-K weekend a reason to return home to Melfort.
She also remembers a woman who had been involved in a car accident and made completing the 5K part of her recovery.
“Her goal that first year was just to be able to do the 5K,” Rogers said. “She’s participated every year since.”
Rogers said those stories show the Multi-K has accomplished van der Ross’s original goal of encouraging people to become more active.
“We’ve seen so many people come out thinking they couldn’t do it, and then they come back year after year,” she said.
The event is also meant to welcome people regardless of how quickly they finish.
“You can just go and walk five or 10 kilometres and still be celebrated,” Rogers said.
In the 5K, Lane Annand of Nipawin finished first in the men’s race and Gabriella Vecchio of Bjorkdale finished first in the women’s race. Kingston Gendall and Nadine Gouws, both of Melfort, won the men’s and women’s 10K races. In the half marathon, Daniel Clark of Melfort won the men’s race and Crystal Wakefield of Lloydminster won the women’s race. Results for the 1K were not available at press time.
Some moments have stayed with her.
Last year, after longtime committee member Jeff Gendall died, members of his family participated and his parents crossed the finish line together.
This year, five members of the Melfort Fire Department completed the 5K in full turnout gear while raising money for muscular dystrophy.
Rogers said the children’s 1K remains her favourite part of race morning.
“Sometimes they’re crying when they come across. Sometimes they’re smiling,” she said. “The kids will be one that I definitely will remember.”
There are parts of being race director she will not miss.
Her biggest worry each year was watching participants head onto the course and waiting for everyone to return safely.
“Once everyone’s back to the finish line is when I can kind of breathe again,” Rogers said.
What she will miss is the committee.
“They’re a great group of people,” she said. “We’ve always had a lot of fun, lots of laughing, and even through the struggles, we still seem to always kind of want to come back every year.”
No single person has been named to replace Rogers.
Four new members joined the committee this year, and Rogers expects the work may initially be divided among several people.
She has also prepared a month-by-month guide with contacts and instructions.
“I have tried to put everything I can out of my brain onto paper,” she said.
Rogers hopes future organizers keep the event affordable and continue supporting the community.
She plans to remain available to help with the transition, although she may not be at next year’s Multi-K.
She has joked that one day she may return in a different role.
“Maybe I’ll have to cross the finish line in a different way some year,” Rogers said.
When the Multi-K reaches its 20th or 25th running, she hopes the children are still running the 1K and the community is still there to support everyone taking part.
“That to me is the biggest reward,” Rogers said. “The proof that it’s successful is just that energy for being in motion and being healthy.”
After helping with the event from its beginning, Rogers said she is ready to step away.
“You can be sad it’s over, but I’m very happy it happened.”
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
