When Kip Sigsworth first heard talk of an indoor marathon in January, he said he thought organizers were crazy.
Two years and a pair of races later, the Lakehead University track and field coach is more than happy to have been proven wrong.
Organizers of the third annual Thunderwolves Indoor Marathon on Wednesday said they anticipate equaling or bettering last year’s 300 entrants, who combined to raise more than $12,000 for the Children’s Centre Foundation Thunder Bay.
Sigsworth said his initial thought was they could never pull it off.
“But last year I actually got to be here and the full (track) team was here and it’s truly an amazing event,” said Sigsworth, whose indoor track at the Hangar will play host to the event on Jan. 22.
“The whole thing is fantastic.”
John Friday, director of management services at the Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, said even he is pleasantly surprised at how the race has taken off, entering its third year.
“Initially it was a bit of a wild card. People were skeptical and they thought it was kind of a crazy idea and we went through with it anyway. It turned out to be a fantastic event,” Friday said.
“We probably had 200 participants and more importantly everyone had a great time and said bring it on next year.”
According to Children’s Centre executive director, one in five children suffers from mental health issues, with one in six of those not receiving the proper care.
Walters said the race is a way to promote awareness of the needs of children in the community get the care they need.
“It helps us, it helps the university, it helps the runners, but most importantly it helps the families,” Walters said.
Racers have the option of participating in a 10-kilometre run, a half marathon or a full marathon, which equals out to 211 laps around the indoor track.
There’s also a marathon relay, for runners who don’t want to do the whole marathon themselves, but instead with the help of friends or co-workers, and a free race for kids.
Registration is open until Jan. 18, and can be done online.
