A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
The 27 students from Akwesasne posing for a photo after running the Ottawa Kids Race. Also pictured far left, Erin Seymour and far right, Annie Cree.
Erin Seymour and the Akwesasne Mohawk School runners.
All 27 students just before the running the Kids Marathon.
Wahohshnoratste and Tsionatiio run in the Kids Marathon in Ottawa on Saturday, May 27.
Hundreds of young runners hit the pavement for a 2-kilometre run on Saturday, kicking off the 2023 edition of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. The Tamarack Ottawa Race is organized yearly by Run Ottawa. It's one of the biggest racing weekends in Canada and yearly attracts close to 47,000 participants across its various events; The Ottawa Marathon, Ottawa Half Marathon, Ottawa 10K, Ottawa 5K, Ottawa 2K, and Ottawa Kids Marathon.
The Ottawa Race Weekend draws nearly 30,000 runners, taking them through the streets of Ottawa and Gatineau. Saturday's runs included the Kids Marathon, the 5k and 10k races, but all eyes were on 96-year-old Rejeanne Fairhead. She set a new world record for the fastest 5k time in the women's 95+ category, with a time of 51:09.
Akwesasne was well represented with 27 elementary school age children from the Akwesasne Freedom School, the St. Regis Mohawk School, Akwesasne Mohawk School, Salmon River Central and Tsi Snaihne School. The 27 Akwesasronon children ran with 1189 runners in the Kids Marathon on Saturday, May 27.
The students didn't run unprepared – the students participated in four weeks of training – running sessions provided by the Iakwashatste Outdoor Program.
"I like running. I play lacrosse and the run was like a warmup," said 8-year-old Tehokhanion from the Akwesasne Freedom School.
Tsionatiio made the day into a family event, as a registered runner/chaperone alongside her two own boys and other students from Akwesasne.
She said, "Its such a great day for everyone. They all go out and just do their best and have a great run. It was so good to see so many kids from Akwesasne. Mohawks have a long history of running and 'runners' played an important role in carrying messages between nations."
Annie Cree, "We had a great day for the Kids Ottawa Marathon! It was actually our 5th year of participating in six years. We missed one because of pandemic. I want to say 'Thank you' to Morgan & Lisa for putting together a great event every year. And to Erin Seymour, Heather Cook and Tsionatiio Thompson – three amazing teachers who brought such an amazing group together. Niawen to all the parents and family that made it out."
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