Weekend run celebrates city’s green spaces
This column previously appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on July 6th, 2010.
The article was written by FUSION Saint John’s Claire Ryan:
This weekend, runners will meet at Lily Lake for a race that will highlight the city’s green spaces. The Run Through History Celebration of Green Spaces event has set its sights on some of Saint John’s most popular community green spaces and has organized a weekend of environmentally friendly activity.
The Run Through History began in 2004 with the Tri-Fort Run series, and offered runners the opportunity to take in the city’s history and unique scenery on foot.
The idea of offering non-traditional distances served to give runners building up to a 10-kilometre, half-marathon or marathon distance a chance to participate in a race during their training. These distances also allowed race organizers to use new routes highlighting different areas in the city. The Run Through History Celebration of Green Spaces will take place from 2010 to 2012, and highlight the many different and unique green spaces in and around Saint John.
More than 160 people have registered for the event, with runners coming from Nova Scotia, Ontario and across New Brunswick to participate in 2.5-, 9.74- and 16.87-mile races. There is also a corporate relay option – the Stride for Success relay will raise funds for Portage Atlantic’s Recovery Trail project. This event, like the original Run Through History, will award a different medal; all three medals make up an interconnecting scene. This cycle will feature one of the city’s green spaces each year through to 2012.
This event, in turn, also supports other running initiatives in the community. Money earned from one year to the next is used to support other grassroot runs, including the Teen Resource Centre Run for Youth, Rothesay High School’s Walk/Run for ALS, the Rothesay Spring Fling and the Tour de Saint John.
The run will not just encourage runners to appreciate the city’s green spaces, it is also encourages participants to protect them by taking measures to minimize waste.
There is no cost for online registration, and marketing materials – posters, banners, etc. – will be reused over the three-year cycle.
City water in recyclable cups will be used in lieu of bottled water and the race bibs are seeded – runners can plant them after the race. Entertainment during race weekend will be acoustic, requiring no electricity, and Bullfrog Power, a green-power company, will inject green energy into the grid to replace power used during the event upon completion.
The Run Through History Celebration of Green Spaces will take place this Saturday and Sunday at Rockwood Park. Registration is still open for the races, which will be held on Sunday.
Claire Ryan is on the FUSION Saint John board. Reach her at cryan@mtlpr.ca.


