The 4th annual Run With Responders will take place this weekend along the Windsor Riverfront Trail. The run will take place this Sunday, July 26, where nearly 450 runners and walkers of all ages are expected to take part in the first responder-themed charity run celebrating all frontline service providers. Funds raised from the run this year will support multiple local charities, including the Canadian Mental Health Association - Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB), the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics and the Windsor Firefighters Benefit Fund. The event will also feature a kids’ dash and an 800-metre run which is sponsored by AM800. All runners in the 5K will receive a high-quality event t-shirt and finisher’s medal. Race director Dave Orshinsky says it’s an important event to support first responders. “We will have somewhere between 120 and 130 first responders participating, and that’s all part of that 450 crowd that we’ll have. So that’s a really great turnout; we have local first responders, we have first responders from Michigan, Sarnia, London, all over the place coming in, which is really great.” He says it’s a great route along the Windsor Riverfront Trail. “Start and finish at the Windsor Civic Terrace, and then we head west, and we turn around partway through the sculpture park, and we come right back again. Lots of scenic things to look at, the Streetcar, the park, and whatnot. It’s a beautiful, beautiful site.” Orshinsky says this event means a lot to him. “I’m a proud parent of two police officers as well too, so it does mean a lot for me to be able to give back and try to change the conversation and then maybe the respect level that our first responders should get all the time because of what they do. So, it’s very important to me and of course we’re raising some great money for some great charities as well.” Last year’s event raised $10,500. This charity 5K will be a rain-or-shine event. Race-day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the run to start at 9 a.m. sharp.
