Not the wind, not the cold, not even the snow could stop women of Thunder Bay from running around Boulevard Lake Saturday morning.
More than 1,100 participated in the 30th annual Women’s United Run with a total of $27,000 raised for United Way of Thunder Bay.
"This year we’ve definitely had an increase (in participants and money) and it’s been incredible," said Bev Lannon of Royal LePage who sponsors the event.
The largest women’s run in Canada features a five-kilometre course where women can either run or walk.
"It’s fun and you get to meet so many people," said registration co-ordinator Colette Villeneuve. "It’s great to see this many women show up to an event."
The run has raised more than $200,000 for United Way in the last 10 years. Celebrity Alexis Jones was at the run to fire the starting gun and give a motivational speech after the race.
The 24-year-old Austin, Texas native, of Survivor: Micronesia was on hand to talk about her life experiences. While on the show Jones said she went 13 days without food, was stung by a scorpion three times, broke her hand, blew out her knee and almost drowned.
This is on top of her pre-Survivor days where she developed cancer only to have it miraculously disappear before climbing to the base of Mount Everest two months later.
"People ask me what I do and I say ‘Change the world,’" Jones said.
Jones also spoke about her feminist movement called "bellism," which she developed after seeing a photo of herself in a magazine. The photo was so doctored that Jones didn’t even recognize herself at first.
"I was like ‘I’ve never seen those abs before in my life,’" she said. "How is it possible that a picture of myself makes me feel bad?"
Jones said it is these unrealistic expectations that keep women hating themselves and others.
"In my generation girls are so mean to each other and themselves," Jones said. "We’re putting (girls) in a race they’re never going to win."