Last week Humber held its 17th Annual 5k Run and the runners had to deal with the heavy rain that day.
Despite the weather, all of the runners made it back happily.
Blaise Uglow, in the Fitness and Health Promotions program, who is the winner of the 2023 OCAA bronze medal and became the second Humber men’s cross country runner that was given the CCAA All-Canadian award, needed only 15:36 to finish, a pace of 3:12 a kilometre.
Uglow said he wanted to get back in that time.
Blaise Uglow was the first one back from the race with an impressive 15:36 being his time. Photo credit: David Madureira
“I was hoping for the time I got, feeling better than expected, it was solid,” he said.
Uglow also said that despite the weather, he enjoyed the event and that he’s used to this because he’s an athlete.
“It was a bit rainy today, but it was a nice little fun little route to test fitness and support Team DeLisle (the runners were on teams) and the charities here. I’m a full time triathlete so it’s kind of my job to run fast. I just enjoy it,” Uglow said.
He said the most important parts of an event like this should be the community and the mindset someone has.
The runners did their warmup in the rain that day. Photo credit: David Madureira
“The community, the environment, and the attitude that people have. It Promotes people to run more and to get outside and be healthy and active,” Uglow said.
Daniel Nguyen in the Justice Studies program was another runner who said he liked the bad weather.
Daniel Nguyen and other runners all having finished the race stand exhausted. Photo credit: David Madureira
“The weather wasn’t that good at the start, but it made it much better. It’s a little bit more challenging with the rain, puddles, and mud, but, you know, it’s good to have a challenge in your life and try to overcome it,” he said.
Nguyen said not giving up and overcoming obstacles is what he took away from the event.
“You should never give up, you keep going no matter the obstacles that come in your way and just overall just push through,” he said.
Nguyen said he doesn’t run often and that he ran here because of the charity aspect of the run.
“I don’t run too often, this is like a more spontaneous decision,” he said. “I saw it for Stella’s Place, I was like, sure, ‘why not?’ It’s for charity, why not show up and run.”
Jade DeLisle, in the Fitness and Health Promotions program like Nguyen, said the weather made the event worth more.
Jade DeLisle was the leader of his team (Team DeLisle) named after him. Photo credit: David Madureira
“Life’s too short. It’s not easy. You’re going to face challenges in life, and a challenge just makes the reward that much greater. It’s about getting uncomfortable, getting out of your comfort zone, and just pushing through when times get tough,” he said.
DeLisle said running has had a big impact on his life and values the opportunity to share this passion with people, and says that it’s an outlet to help him through tough times like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As someone who’s struggled with mental health over the years, COVID could have made or broken me and I chose to use running as my outlet and help me through, I wanted to share that passion and share what running has done for me with everyone by bringing everyone together,” he said.
Chrysanthe Nikolaidis, in the Kinesthetics Program, said this was her first 5k run and she ran the race to support her brother.
“I actually decided to run the race because it’s my brother’s 18th birthday and he really struggles with mental health, so I did this for him because he’s about to graduate high school, I just want to support him in any way that I can,” she said.
Chrysanthe Nikolaidis had run the race to support her brother on his birthday. Photo credit: David Madureira
Nikolaidis said she was initially afraid of the weather that day but the support of her team and the community helped her push through.
“I don’t like the rain,” she said. “I screamed every puddle I stepped in, but I realized that when I found running buddies on the trail and we just pushed each other to keep going, we maintained the same pace, If one of us stopped, we made sure to push each other and keep going.”
She said she would “absolutely” be attending the run next year.