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Annual Events, Fitness, Toronto Events

One View of the 2015 Toronto Challenge 5K Charity Run

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Here is one view of the 2015 Toronto Challenge charity run and walk – my own. I’ve run in this annual Toronto event in the early summer every year since 2001. Still, each year has it’s own twist.

(Updated June 14, 2015): added the “After Running the 2015 Toronto Challenge 5Km” section below.

Mike DeHaan finishing the 2007 Toronto Challenge, image by Toronto Challenge organizers
Mike DeHaan finishing the 2007 Toronto Challenge, image by Toronto Challenge organizers

The Basics of the Toronto Challenge

Briefly, the Toronto Challenge is a charity event in support of many assisted-living facilities in Toronto. The people who benefit may be the elderly and frail, or those with developmental challenges.

Participants may choose to raise funds for any one of the organizations, so you can be very motivated for a specific not-for-profit agency.

The Toronto Challenge event includes a timed 5 kilometre race, a 5Km walk, and a 1Km walk. (To Americans, those distances are 3 miles, 3 miles, and 1,100 yards respectively).

One Surprise Before the 2015 Toronto Challenge

My surprise came when I registered through the online web site last Sunday. It happened to be the final hours for online registration, so I was quite lucky to catch that break. So I learned that online registration closes a week before the run.

In most previous years, I’d signed up in person at a Running Room store here in Toronto. I haven’t been in the store recently, so this was my first online sign-up for the Toronto Challenge. (Not my first sign-up through the Running Room web site, however).

Oh yes… one year I registered in person at Metro Hall, just an hour before the race. That was fine, except that one must pre-register to get a T-shirt. They are good, long-lasting cotton T-shirts; definitely worth getting. I vowed never to miss pre-registration again.

"Setting the stage for the 2015 Toronto Challenge 5Km Charity Run" image (c) by Mike DeHaan
“Setting the stage for the 2015 Toronto Challenge 5Km Charity Run” image (c) by Mike DeHaan

After Running the 2015 Toronto Challenge 5Km

My first really great moment was guiding one of the race volunteers to Metro Hall; it was her first time at the venue, and didn’t know which way to go from Queen and University to get to King and Simcoe. Later she was handing out water at the half-way mark on the 5Km route.

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This was the first Toronto Challenge morning that was cool and a bit rainy. Usually it’s been really warm and sunny by 9:30am.

I beat the half-hour mark for the run; slower than usual, but consistent with how my training runs have gone this spring.

Gatorade, pizza, a banana and a juice box fueled me for the 7Km run home, at a slower recovery pace. I haven’t been so glad to stop for red lights for years!

Once again, I was inspired and humbled to see that many of the participants also are the beneficiaries of this Toronto Challenge charity event. Seniors with limited energy or mobility, as well as developmentally challenged folk of different ages, take part in fund-raising and in the walk events (5Km and 1Km). When I headed home about an hour after the start of the race, I crossed the path of a few 1Km walkers – still going under their own power! – as well as a number of the 5Km walkers.

"Mike DeHaan after the 2015 Toronto Challenge Charity Run" image (c) by Mike DeHaan
“Mike DeHaan after the 2015 Toronto Challenge Charity Run” image (c) by Mike DeHaan

A Previous Article on the Toronto Challenge

I’ve written about the Toronto Challenge before, of course. I was surprised that the most recent article was “A Novel Route for the 2012 Toronto Challenge“. That has most of the details: where to find Metro Hall, and the route so you could watch.

Well, I did update that blog post in 2013 and 2014; but it seems time for a new entry.

The Toronto Challenge still uses the 2012 route, mainly because Queen’s Quay is still under construction, although it is nearly ready for the PanAm and ParaPan games in a few weeks. My guess is that we would return to the previous route next year.

Looking for More Annual Events or a Holiday in Toronto Canada?

My blog tracks many of the annual Toronto events that I find interesting, free or frugal.

The Toronto Challenge costs $20 ($22.50 online) to enter, but it supports a family of worthy causes in Toronto. With some free refreshments and a T-shirt, it’s pretty good value for a Sunday morning.

Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science, Decoded Pregnancy and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights those online articles on this site.

Click the “Toronto Events” category at the bottom of the left-hand column for recent articles in this category. Thanks!

Thanks for reading about the 2015 Toronto Challenge charity event.

Fitness, Online Articles, Public Service Announcement

Why Write Two Running Tips for Cold Weather?

Why did I write “Two Cold Weather Running Tips from Two Frigid Days” in my DeHaan Fitness blog? To fill a gap I noticed in other articles on that subject!

Why should I mention that article here? Since this site promotes my writing, this lets me explain about changing my writing style for different situations.

"A Halifax Harrier (UK) Demonstrates Cold Weather Running" image by AdamKR under CC license
"A Halifax Harrier (UK) Demonstrates Cold Weather Running" image by AdamKR under CC license

Why Write a Pair of Cold Weather Running Tips?

As I explain in my DeHaan Fitness post, most of the other articles recommend “the right cold weather running gear”. That may help someone who is beginning running in winter. At that stage in my journey to fitness, I simply wore what I had. That included a cotton T-shirt, sweat pants, sweatshirt, a really old overcoat, an old toque and worn-out gloves. Now that I’ve earned some technical fabric T-shirts, and bought proper running pants and jackets, I’m much less likely to perspire heavily and then freeze.

But everyone else suggests buying the right clothing for running in the cold. So I wrote different tips for running.

My article relates two running tips for cold weather that one might not find elsewhere. Probably they have been suggested by others; but they felt rather new to me when I thought of them.

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Why Publicize my Article on Cold Weather Running Tips?

As a freelance writer, my task is to convey my client’s message in a “voice” that authentically represents that person or company.

For example, a service company may want to project how helpful they are, and the results they can achieve. Perhaps each section of an article should include a “call to action”, such as “contact us to learn more”. A professional tone may be needed; or perhaps one of reassurance and comfort.

By contrast, when I write for Decoded Science, my articles blend my insight into the topic with the tone and style of that web site. Many other science articles adopt a passive voice: “The experiment was performed successfully, but significant capital expenditures were accrued”. That’s not the Decoded Science style (thank goodness!), but one must adapt to a publication’s requirements.

I’ve deliberately chosen an informal first-person voice for my DeHaan Fitness articles. That site provides some of my own views and experiences.

By contrast, the Toronto events covered in this site are usually written before the event. For example, I do not recount “what I did for March Break”; instead, my article covers what you might plan to do, locally, with your own family.

Why am I publicizing the article I wrote about a pair of tips for cold weather running? In part, to inform prospective clients that I can write in different styles. Use my contact information in the right-hand column when you need some ghost-writing for your business!

However, this publicity is also a public service announcement to other runners (and cyclists, hikers and outdoors enthusiasts) who may have the same problem as the young man I met while running in the cold the other week.

Thanks for reading about why I wrote an article with two running tips for cold weather.

Fitness, Online Articles

Fitness with the Tortoise and the Hare

Does Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, actually teach us about fitness and how to pace your run? Maybe not, but it helped me put an insight into perspective in “The Tortoise and Hare Approach to Running Pace“, my latest DeHaan Fitness post.

"Rabbit foraging in Alabama" image by Stephen Kirkpatrick, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
"Rabbit foraging in Alabama" image by Stephen Kirkpatrick, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Okay, Aesop Really Didn’t Say Much about Fitness

I’d like to feel as quick as this rabbit, but as I admit in that blog post, I felt really slow at the start of that fitness session.

And no, Aesop truly did not discuss “pace” for exercising. He had a different insight about competition. Actually my blog post is about setting a wise pace early in the run. I used the “Tortoise and Hare” phrase to highlight the contrast between trying too hard versus starting with a sustainable pace.

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Two Sources for Aesop’s Fables

I found a couple of good Kindle books of Aesop’s fables, in Amazon. Read them for Aesop’s wisdom on a range of subjects… or to give your children something to dream about.

“Aesop’s Fables (Kindle Edition)” has a low price, and a 4-star rating from 7 reviewers. Each modernized fable has its own illustration. Check it out in the Canadian edition or the American edition.

The “Aesop’s Fables (Oxford World’s Classics – Kindle Edition)” version has a whopping 600 fables! The only review gives it 5 stars. This version has been translated anew from the Greek. It’s recommended for the parent who wants to know what the original stories really said. Check it out in the Canadian edition or the American edition.

Professional Writing by DeHaan Services

DeHaan Services writes web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science, Decoded Pregnancy, DeHaan Fitness, and other sites. I also promote my articles with writing tips in my Blog of Writing site: for example, “One Writing Tip from Running with Aesop“. That’s why we highlight these online articles on this blog page.

To only see Toronto events, or only the fitness articles, please click on the appropriate category in the “Categories” section at the bottom of the right-hand margin.

Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.