This Sunday, the 19th annual Foodfare-Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon, Two-Person Relay and 5K race kicks off Manitoba’s running season. Come and cheer on more than 1,600 runners participating in this popular event.
Whether they’re running for a personal best, to support those touched by cancer or to show cancer who’s boss, our runners have their heads and hearts in the right place.
For many, this race is personal because so many have lost a loved one to cancer or are supporting someone living with cancer; this is a day to make a difference. This event has a legacy of raising over $2 million to support Manitoba cancer patients.
All monies raised from this year’s event go to the Canadian Cancer Society to support research in Manitoba to help children affected by brain cancer - the second leading cause of cancer death for kids under 14.
Canadian Cancer Society-funded researcher Dr. Donald Mabbott is leading a national clinical trial that could ease the long-term side effects of chemotherapy and radiation used to treat brain tumours. This trial uses a common drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes to stimulate stem cells in the brain and boost cognitive function and the recovery of young cancer patients.
CancerCare Manitoba researcher Magimairajan Issai Vanan – the only clinician in the province that treats young Manitobans with brain tumours – is part of an international team testing this promising new treatment
Sunday’s half marathon race and 2-person relay events start at 8:00 a.m. in front of the ultimate frisbee fields in Assiniboine Park. The 5K event begins at 8:10 a.m.
The Winnipeg Police Service’s helicopter, AIR1, will be on-site for public viewing.
Citizens are invited to cheer runners on along the race route or at the finish line in Assiniboine Park.
Traffic notes include:
- Westbound Wellington Crescent from Guelph Street to Assiniboine Park is closed from 6:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. (no parking on the closed portions of Wellington Crescent)
- Northbound Park Boulevard North to Wellington Crescent is closed from 6:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. (no parking on Park Boulevard North, north of Corydon Avenue)
- No parking is permitted in the two eastbound curb lanes of Portage Avenue from Woodhaven Boulevard west to Douglas Park Boulevard from 2:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on race day
The 2023 Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon, Two-Person Relay and 5K Race Route is as follows:
1st leg: Runners will head south onto Conservatory Drive, East of Corydon, to leave the park. The runners will then proceed north on Park Boulevard North, then east on Wellington Crescent (in the westbound lanes) to Guelph Street (turn-around point), where they will return west on Wellington Crescent and then north over the train footbridge at Empress Street, continue west on the north side of the river on Wolseley Avenue West, under the Route 90 overpass to Riverbend Crescent, Assiniboine Avenue; north on Douglas Park Road then west on Portage Avenue in the eastbound traffic curb lane. A relay exchange is set up near Portage Avenue and Overdale Street.
2nd leg: Runners will continue west on Portage Avenue to Olive Street, utilizing the footpath system to head onto the Charleswood Parkway and turn around at Roblin Boulevard. Runners will head back to the north side of the Assiniboine River via the Charleswood Parkway, looping through Woodhaven (west on Portage Avenue in the eastbound traffic curb lane; south on Woodhaven Park; east on Assiniboine Avenue, north on Woodbridge Road, east on Assiniboine Crescent to Portage Avenue) before returning east on Portage Avenue to the Assiniboine Park Footpath where they will proceed south over the footpath and east to the finish line located in front of the baseball diamonds.
Please contact John Douglas with any questions or media enquiries at 204-227-1846 or via email: jdouglas@mts.net