Brian Nemethy
And they are off…. The 34th running of the Wild Goose Chase Fun Run took place last Sunday from WL McLeod Elementary School.
More than 330 participants took to the streets of Vanderhoof, either taking part in a 3.5km, 5km, or 8km event. Race organizers – Wanda and Brian Nemethy – took the race over back in 1998 when Jenny and Terry Hooper retired. The event began in 1978 with 22 participants. Thirty-four years later, the race is bigger than ever. In 1998 there were 53 participants. In 2009 the starting line had 383 participants. Competitors had chances to win medals that were three deep in each of the 16 race categories. Prize money was also given away for the first male and female overall in each event. Prizes included two mountain bikes, a gift card valued at $150, six gift cards at $100 each, two gift cards at $50, just to name a few. To top it all off, a night for two at Esther’s Inn which included dinner and, of course, free swimming. See the website, www.wildgoosechase.ca, for full results. First to the finish line this year was as follows:
3.5km run male: Alexander Nemethy
11 min 46 sec
3.5km run female: Emma Balazs
13 min 25 sec
5km walk male: Tony Prazma
34 min 13 sec
5km walk female: Anna Manwarily
39 min 41 sec
8km run male: Nathan Bancroft
28 min 34 sec
8 km run female: Jacqui Benson
30 min 14 sec