The Melfort Multi-K on Saturday, Sept. 13 served as a tribute to late committee member Jeff Gendall, who passed away in March.
Race Director Allison Rogers said the race was a good way to bring family and friends together to remember Gendall’s contributions.
“He enjoyed Multi-K a lot and was a big part of its success, so it was important that his family and friends and everybody took a moment to recognize him and do what he loved,” Rogers said.
The race included several tributes to Gendall, including the race bibs. Rogers said Gendall always brought energy and a positive attitude to the race.
“He did all the social media stuff and he was really good at just being positive and upbeat,” she said. “I can get a bit bogged down with all the details and all that stuff and making sure it runs and he makes sure that everyone’s having fun and cheering them on and keeping it light and remembering the purpose of it. He was a really big part of that.”
Rogers always uses turnout on race day as a guide and this year was exceptional.
“We had probably about an 88 per cent turnout, which is like the best we’ve ever had,” she said. “We always have high numbers in terms of registration, but for me, the success is always how many were actually there that day. So 88 per cent—I think we had about 506 out of 570—was pretty good.”
The participants were not the only people to show up in numbers. Members of the community did as well.
“(It was) not just the people participating,” Rogers said. “There was just a lot of people there watching and supporting. It was the busiest it’s ever been. It was just wall to wall people in that little spot.”
The winners of the races also had connections to Gendall. His son, Ewan, won the half marathon with a time of one hour, 24 minutes and eight seconds. His youngest son, Kingston, won the 10k with a time of 41 minutes and 43 seconds.
His other son Hayden Gendall was entered in the 5k and his wife Jill Gendall ran a personal 5k before the race began.
Gendall’s nephew, Jacob, completed the race hat trick, winning the 1K run.
“It was kind of cool that three out of the four events were won by a Gendall. Ewan ran his first half marathon and didn’t just amazing so that was pretty cool to watch too,” Rogers said.
Ethan Shabaga placed second in the half-marathon with a time of one hour, 27 minutes, and 12 seconds.
In the women’s half-marathon, Leslie Robertson finished first with a time of one hour, 51 minutes, and five seconds.
In the 5k first, place for men went to Lane Annand with a time of 17 minutes and 20 seconds. First place for women was Gabriella Vecchio with a time of 21 minutes and 59 seconds.
In the 10K, second place for went to Sean Trithardt with a time of 42 minutes and seven seconds. First place for women went to Melissa Koroll with a time of 50 minutes and 20 seconds.
The 1K Kids run is always free and sees children start the morning off each year.
This is the 14th event. The 2020 event was run virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Next year’s actually 15 for us, we should have been 15 this year, but due to COVID there, we lost 2020, so we’re kind of looking forward to celebrating pretty big milestone,” Rogers said. “Not many events can stay at the level that we’ve been able to stay at for as long as we’ve stayed there, so we’re going to start planning that in January. We’ll take a few months off here and regroup.”
Rogers said the committee is looking for some fresh faces and a replacement for Rogers.
“I think we may have a couple new committee members and we’re going to be looking for a new race director because this will be my last year,” she said.
“We had planned that this would be my last year, but with Jeff’s passing, we just decided to focus on that instead of trying to find somebody.”
Rogers hopes that someone new who comes on can take the role which she has held since the first Multi-K.
“I think we’re going to try to get some new people within the committee in the hopes that we’ll find somebody that’s willing to take on the race director role, so looking forward to that,” she 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.
She also thanked announcer Bill Wood for his work. Wood has announced all but one year of the Multi-K. The timing was done by SportStats.
The next Melfort Multi K is on Sept. 19, 2026. Rogers said they have found a spot going forward in the week following the Queen City Marathon. Because of where Labour Day lands, the race in Regina is on Sept. 11 to Sept. 13.
Rogers said that there were many new people in the race from outside of Melfort.
She also thanked local businesses who sponsored everything from water stations, to food and prizes. Spa Fit by Linda did the warm-up that starts each race day.
“It takes about 100 people to put on the event and to thank all the sponsors in the community that make the event possible, whether it’s through monetary donation or in kind, it’s all they may seem like little pieces but it all adds up and it makes for a great community event,” Rogers said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
