What started as eight friends running to raise money for men’s health and the Movember campaign in 2023 has grown into an annual charity event, with more than 700 runners taking part in the 2026 Cold Patrol 10K in support of the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Philippe Burns, a founding member, says the group formed a non-profit organization called the Patrol Foundation. “This is obviously a charity event, but when I look around, it’s not the typical crowd that comes out to charity events, it’s young people, it’s healthy people, just people who want to come out and have fun,” he said. “We’re all volunteers, our sponsors have covered all the costs so your entire ticket cost goes to Alberta Cancer Foundation.” Burns says the event has continued to grow over its four years, along with the amount of money it raises. The inaugural run raised $30,000, while organizers have set a fundraising goal of $150,000 this year. “It’s just so funny to get to that point where for the first time, maybe there’ll be a critical mass of more folks who we don’t know than know,” he said. “It changes the dynamic a little bit where it’s almost like outgrown what we thought it would be, which was kind of just us and our friends and it’s created something that the whole community can rally behind and that’s so cool to see, we’re so thrilled about that.” Nyle Macleod, another founding member, says the group has created a positive atmosphere among like-minded people. “Part of the run is competitive for a certain group, but a lot of people are out there with their friends,” he said. “Some people are bringing their dogs running around the city and then coming to a nice little after party (at Cold Garden Beverage Company).” Macleod says the brewery has been a great partner since the beginning. “This year we have a signature drink that we’re going to be launching with them for the event, which we’re super excited about,” he said. “We pitched the idea of a drink to use some of the proceeds to go towards our cause with Alberta Cancer Foundation and the next thing we knew, we had mock ups and then we just got to look at the can so it all feels pretty surreal.” Emma Dowie is participating in the run for the third time and spends weeks canvassing friends and family for donations ahead of the event. “I work at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the pediatric oncology unit,” she said. “So I work with kids with cancer every single day so it’s something that’s always been really important to me so I harass my friends and family and coworkers every single year to donate because I wouldn’t be able to do my job without the funds and the donations so I see the donations making a difference in those kids lives every single day.” Eric Shettler is also taking part for the third consecutive year. This time, he’s formed a new team called “The Momentum Master Blaster Pros,” a name he chose because he wanted something that sounded like a kids’ team name. Despite some pushback from teammates, Shettler says he’s happy with the choice and that the run has become part of his life. “They’ve created a community of the people in this kind of age group that all have something shared in common,” he said. “Also this is their event, this is their space, this is their fundraising time, they’ve done a really good job of getting our age group out there.” The 10-kilometre run takes place Saturday, Nov. 7, starting at the Inglewood parking lot at 712 12th Street S.E. and ending at Cold Garden.
