More than 750 participants hit the pavement for the 15th Annual Coaldale Family Fun Run

Sunny South News Photo by Kristine Jean. COALDALE FAMILY FUN RUN: More than 750 participants took part in the 15th Annual Coaldale Family Fun Run on April 18. The first person to cross the finish line this year was 22-year old Coaldale resident, Shaun Geusebroek, who finished the race in 17 minutes.

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

Surpassing last year’s numbers, a total of 779 runners and walkers took part in  the 15th Annual Coaldale Family Fun Run.  

The five kilometre event, presented by Coaldale Christian School, was held on April 18 and saw participants from across the region. 

Graham Argyle from Lethbridge has been participating in the Coaldale Family Fun Run for at least a dozen years and loves to see the entire town get involved in the annual fundraiser. He also enjoys seeing the number of children that participate from the schools. 

“This run is fantastic. The whole town turns up for it and it’s really lovely,” said Argyle, noting he’s been running for more than 30 years. Last year, he ran the five kilometre event in 24 minutes and 53 seconds, but was adding a couple of minutes to his time this year, hoping to complete it in 27 minutes.  

“I’m a year older and I haven’t trained,” he said with a chuckle.   

The family fun run is an annual fundraiser, with a portion of entry fees and proceeds from the event going to support local organizations and projects every year. For the last number of years, the event has rotated between raising funds for the Coaldale Food Bank and Rehoboth Christian Ministries. 

This year, a total of $1,554 will be donated from entries towards Rehoboth Christian Ministries in Coaldale.  

In addition, event sponsors MNP and the Kinsmen Club of Coaldale will donate $1,500 to R.I. Baker’s School athletic program. Although total amounts were not available at press time, a significant amount will be donated towards the SHIFT Recreation Centre for new baseball cages and equipment and for Project Playground (Coaldale) East, which will help purchase a soccer net and picnic table.

Town of Coaldale firefighter Alfonso Decicco, was running in his second Coaldale Family Fun Run – in his bunker gear, that included wearing an oxygen tank and mask. 

“It’s just for a challenge, to see what I can push myself to,” said Decicco. “When you add about 89 pounds of equipment and the heat from your bunker gear, it makes it a lot more challenging.” 

Decicco ran the event in 39 minutes last year and set a goal to beat that time by two minutes this year – a feat he accomplished when he crossed the finish line at 36:59.   

“I like doing (the fun run) with my kids – I think it’s a good influence on them to get in shape, take care of themselves and have fun doing it,” he added.  

Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn spoke to participants prior to the race and welcomed them, their families, Coaldale residents and visitors to the event. He and other Coaldale Town Council members also participated in the event.  

Shaun Geusebroek, 22, was the first runner to cross the finish line this year. He was participating in his first Coaldale Family Fun Run after moving to town a couple of years ago.

He shared the secret to his first place finish in 17 minutes flat.     

“I’m on the Lethbridge College Track Team and I was doing that for January and February and I just kept training after that,” said Geusebroek, noting the great turnout for the event. “It’s crazy to see that many people out. Coaldale’s not a big town (but) it’s cool to see.”  

While it may have been Geusebroek’s first family fun run, it probably won’t be his last.  

“It’s a lot of fun. It gives me motivation to train, too, and stay in shape,” said Geusebroek.