The Canadian Army Run in Ottawa broke new ground this weekend with a special participant.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ran in the five-kilometre event through downtown Ottawa, becoming the first sitting prime minister to take part.
Trudeau finished the race in a time of 23:08.4, good enough for 364th place. He edged out Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan, who finished in 945th place with a time of 25:45.1.
Chris Koch was among the Army Run participants who met Trudeau Sunday. Born without fully developed arms and legs, he used a skateboard to complete the half-marathon event.
“(The race is) kind of cool,” he told CTV Ottawa. “You feel a lot of national pride being in the capital city.”
The Canada Army Run is an annual race to raise money for injured military members and their families. This is the 10th edition of the race and some people just can’t stay away. More than 150 people have ran in the races each year.
“I have a back fracture but I really wanted to run,” said Donna Campeau, one of the racers. “This means a lot to me.”
The race began in 2008 with 700 runners and now boasts 22,000 participants with spots selling out months in advance.
As part of the 10 anniversary, organizers added two new events to the schedule, the 10K and the Vimy Challenge—where runners take part in both the five and ten-kilometre races.
In the days leading up to the race, high temperatures threatened the event entirely. Organizers took to Facebook, issuing a warning for all runners about the high heat and urging runners to wear light clothing.
Paramedics rushed four runners to hospital, where one woman is in critical condition.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Annie Begeron-Oliver.
