Sporting Life 10k

The view of 10,000 runners and walkers making their way down Yonge Street is worth the price of admission to the Sporting Life 10k. This was my second year participating in the race and for reasons I can't explain entirely, it swells my heart to see the swath of people, not cars, crowding the lanes of Yonge Street.

The race advertises a walking division and a walking start 10 minutes after the general start. Last year there was a sign indicating where walkers should gather, but no one gathered! This was disappointing. It meant that walkers started randomnly among the runners.

This year there was a volunteer standing in the vicinity of the "Walkers" sign. When approached, she indicated that she was there to direct us. Unfortunately, as close as three to four minutes before the run start at 8am, she seemed to have little sense of authority and even less idea of what we should be doing or where we should be going. Without a headset to the start officials, she had little direction to give us.

Within 5 minutes after the official start, a different volunteer with a headset did approach those of us who had gathered and we were led to the start line. And, as promised, there was an "official" countdown and start for walkers at 8:10. Incremental improvement since the previous year! And, lesson learned, look for the person with a headset.

Within a few minutes of starting I was passing people who were walking and wearing walking bibs indicating their registration as a walker. Over the course of the race, and even up until the last few hundred meters, I passed several more people wearing walking bibs.

For walking participants, the race would benefit from clearer instructions on the website and email updates as to the organization of the walking start. We may be small in number, but we are a growing division. Moreover, it shouldn't take too much time or money to clarify the logistics for the walking start and the guidelines for participation as a walker.

I look forward to the race next year and, hopefully, another leap forward in its organization for walkers!