The first annual Georgina Spring Fling felt more like a summer race with sunshine and temperatures that took many by surprise. After weeks of what felt like extended winter weather, spring took off as quickly as some of our winners.
Over 400 runners turned up to race in the 21.1k, 10k and 5k races and many made the last minute decision to wear their race singlet and leave the jacket behind. Mayor Margaret Quirk helped kick off the event with a welcome message from the town of Georgina.
The half marathon was won by Kevin Tree of Barrie and Heather Colasuonno of Ajax. Winners of the 10k were Jack Ormsby of Brechin and Paige Nock of Courtice, who also placed third overall. The 5k race was won by Noel Guy of Churchill and Kate Guy, also of Churchill….who also placed third overall. (Training partners, no doubt!) In the under 10 year old age group, Adriano Gonzalez Sison not only won the category, but placed 6th overall.
Participants were invited to join a pre-race Expo and Pasta Dinner at The Briars on Saturday to hear speakers Dr. Cindy Lewis-Caballero of Pro.Body.Wellness., Dr. Alli Cain of the presenting sponsor GrowCo Rehab, Kim St. Vincent of Spark Sports Nutrition and a special appearance by John Lettieri, founder and president of Hero Burgers. Forrest Jones Entertainment was there to promote their upcoming Live Laugh Love Festival to be held at The Briars this fall.
After the race, The Briars put on a BBQ in the park, and Elpida Cafe served up coffee and lemonade while the runners celebrated their accomplishments by ringing the bell at the selfie backdrop. Race announcer Greg Nicol kept the energy going and Dan Pollard did live broadcasts for HITS105.5FM.
Out on the course, the Jennifer Jones real estate community cruiser teamed up with the K Country 93.7 trailer for a cheering station that provided lots of energy to runners as they passed. The race alligator mascot told jokes and ‘encouraged’ runners to stay on pace.
Many runners were checking out the course and plan to return for the Georgina Marathon & Half-Marathon on September 11th. The course is certified as a Boston qualifier and the date falls just inside the cut-off for qualifying marathons for the 2024 race. For runners not quite ready for the longer distance, a 5km race has been added to the event.