Ken Baerg is a family guy who as he describes it has recently experienced the tragedy of entering his 40’s. He has a wife and two daughters he adores. He also knows that not everyone in the world lives the way we do.
“I’ve experienced first hand the absurdity of poverty and how critical clean water is to health, hygiene, gender equality and human rights.”
§staticmap(9189,5,450,250)Hello, on May 29th 2011, you’ll be organizing the Run for Water Marathon. Can you tell us where it is located?
The race is held in Abbotsford, BC, Canada, a City of 140,000 inhabitants, 1 hour outside of Vancouver.
This will be the 4th edition of the race. Why was it created in the first place?
We wanted to create a top tier running event that our community could be proud of.An event that could host everyone from the recreational 5 k runner to the elite long distance athlete.
We also wanted to keep the cause central to the event and we work hard to bring profile to the global water crisis and encourage people to raise funds and/or donate money to our NGO partner, Hope International Development Agency.
They earmark the funds we raise to provide clean water to the forgotten people of southern Ethiopia.
The half marathon and the marathon are some of the flattest long distance courses you will find.
They are also scenic with the course winding its way through some beautiful pastoral landscape with the start/finish area at a beautiful lake-front park.
How many runners do you expect on Sunday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract?
We expect 3000 this year. Last year we had 2400.
With the addition of the marathon and with a growing event in general, we think we will hit this mark.
We offer the 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon and marathon all of which are held on Sunday morning.
At that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect?
Typically the best running weather one could hope for. Temperatures for this time of year are moderate, presenting excellent running conditions.
We typically get a low of 7°C and a high of 20°C.
Have you planned festivities around the marathon?
We have a gala event on the Friday preceding the race featuring entertainment and a keynote speaker – last year we had decorated hero Romeo Dallaire and ultra-distance runner Ray Zahab. This years’ guest are not yet confirmed.
The marathon finished, what advice would you give a runner who has never been to Abbotsford before? A good restaurant, a fancy sightseeing?
I would refer them to the tourism Abbotsford webpage. While proximity to Vancouver is one thing, Abbotsford has many things going for it as well. The website is a great resource to learn all about them.
In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the Run for Water Marathon?
Run For Water is executed with excellence and will provide a high quality running experience while helping those in the world with the most basic of necessities – clean water!