By Pepper Parr
February 25th, 2104
BURLINGTON, ON.
After a month or so of significant turmoil and the introducing of a new named sponsor the Chilly Half Marathon and the Frosty 5k gear up for an event that draws thousands to the city.
Sunday March 2nd, runners who have been training for some time – thousands of them – will gather at the starting gate and get ready to run in what just might be a genuine “Chilly” half marathon race this year
The event does close down large portion of Lakeshore Road just the way the Santa Clause parade closes down New Street.
There are a number of races in the city with most being organized by Kelly Arnott who is one of those people who just does things and is always on the go.
Each day is non-stop for Kelly Arnott. One of her local sponsors – Discovery Ford provides a vehicle.
She is a born salesman – Kelly just gets out there and makes things happen. There are those who wish she weren’t quite as active, perhaps a little less frenetic, maybe not have quite as many ideas. You might as well expect the tide to stop raising the level of the water. Kelly Arnott is a force – she just does stuff.
After working with her Dad in the shoe business, Arnott struck out on her own and opened a high-end fashion shoe store in the Village Square and things at Sabrina were pretty good until the recession in the 80’s which took the bottom out of almost everything retail.
Before experiencing the downturn Kelly and her husband Mark thought about using the second floor of the store they ran to sell running shoes. Dianne Hogarth designed the store for them and suddenly they were in another line of business driven to a large degree by Mark’s new interest in running; this at a time when running wasn’t the sport it is today.
Village Runner was one of the early athletic footwear retail outlets, long before the franchise operations came along. If you run a retail outlet selling running shoes you quickly get into operating races – and thus was born VRPro.
The Arnott’s have organized a lot of races. Part of their income is derived from working as Race organizers for others. They do the Yorkville Race in Toronto, which is one of the fastest in the country. There was the Downtown Dash, there was the better forgotten Goose Goo, and there was the Triathlon to raise funds for the Carpenter Hospice.
Carolyn Wallace and her Easter Seals campaign has had a race, the Lions have had a race. Portions of Brant Street get closed down for the Amazing Bed Race
There were races known as the Tim Horton series, and the very early Run for the Cure – before CIBC became the title sponsor.
Race sponsorships come and go. Corporations will decide that an athletic event will serve their marketing objectives very well and they get behind an event and put their marketing dollars on the line.
Tim Hortons was part of the event – now Trillium College is the title sponsor. There are still dozens of other local sponsors involved.
The Chilly Half Marathon and Frosty 5k takes place three weeks before the Race around the Bay – another event that draws people to our part of the province.
Running races is all about organization and working with all the interests in the community. There was one race where there was a fist fight that police had to break up. One of the early Arnott races had her busing runners to Oakville for a run back to Burlington: “that was a disaster” adds Arnott who tends to be quite open about what works and what doesn’t work.
All the difficulties – and when something different is done, there are difficulties, don’t detract from the fact that Kelly Arnott have raised millions and introduced tens of thousands of people to Burlington.
With the 2014 Half Chilly Marathon and the Frosty 5k just days away Arnott scurries about getting the details covered off. Registration will be lower in 2014 –”the publicity surrounding the race a couple of months ago didn’t help”, explains Arnott, “but the biggest reason is the weather. It has been too cold for runners to get out and practice”.
There are some people who will need access to Lakeshore Road from the streets that run south – there is a help line to get in touch with the people who can help resolve the problem. Call Jessica at 905-220-1785. She is there to help. If you don’t get the help you expected write us – we want to know abut that.
The number will come in close to 3000 people which is certainly respectable enough. The race route is now an established Lakeshore Road event. Arnott explains that there are 375 homes south of Lakeshore Road – that seems a little on the low side. The race does disrupt traffic patterns – there is no arguing that point, but for the people who do live south of Lakeshore Road – they know when the event is taking place and they can make other plans.
Race participants do pay a fee and detractors are quick to add up the numbers and decide that the Arnott’s are earning a pile of money – and the actual revenue is decent. It’s the expenses that chip away at that revenue. Each runner gets a sweater – and they aren’t cheap, beer tickets, and of course that Tim Horton’s Chilli
Kelly Arnott displaying on of the female sweaters that race runners are given.
Kelly can run anyone who cares to listen through the list of how much her organization pays out to community organization. $7500 to the Performing Arts Centre for the use of their space more than she likes paying to the Regional police for security and traffic control, to say nothing of the tens of thousands of dollars that gets spent in the city as a result of the race.
Could the race be run somewhere else – sure it could but why would you move a significant event off one of the nicest roads in the city? There was the suggestion that the race be run through the industrial parts of the city – which one didn’t go down very well when it was brought up at a city council meeting.
City council understood the value of the event to its retail and hospitality sectors and got behind the event to ensure it remained on Lakeshore Road. During the debate over the race route Burlington saw a level of pettiness that didn’t reflect well on what most people think the city is all about.
These things happen.
Background Links:
Half Chilly marathon route a city council issue.
Residents get a hearing on the marathon route, don’t get any satisfaction.
I am wondering how much of our taxpayers dollars the city has spent on last minute grooming of Lakeshore road pot holes and fixing the area of the watermain break (just west of Appleby)I the past week?? Will these fixes last since they were done in subzero weather? Or were these done just to appease VRPro, a for-profit organization?
We are closing comments on this article because they are getting abusive and repetitive. However we will monitor closely and if there is someone with new information we will re-open comments. We do note that the 375 number given for homes south of Lakeshore was a grossly incorrect number. We expect the numbers of runners this year will be lower this year due to the weather and the fact that many runners were not able to train.
Let’s change the focus and talk about transparency. Ms. Arnott talks about the huge costs paid by her company which leave her a profit far below what her detractors think she makes. OK, let her give us a financial breakdown to prove her point. I know that the amount given as “charity” to the hospital is a pittance when compared to the sums donated to other charities by similar functions such as the MS walkathon, (which doesn’t shut down a major highway!).
Also, in the interest of transparency, I would like to see a breakdown of the costs incurred by the taxpayers of Burlington in the use of police and city staff and employees vs the profit made by VRpro.
Pepper Parr enthuses about all the business brought to the city. At a public council meeting I attended an audience member asked if the city would provide numbers. The response was that no-one had any numbers to give! In other words no-one has any idea what this race brings to the city other than what they are told by Ms. Arnott and her disciples.
I am not holding my breath that we will ever know!
Who cares what the numbers are; what is the relevance of this request? This is not a transparency issue.
The race brings people, in greater numbers than if there was no race. Those are the numbers that matter.
Go see for yourself to the many bars and restaurants after the race, and witness the joy and positive vibes enjoyed by all of those associated with such an event. I hope to even see some of the cops taking in a few beers and have a good time for a change, and get to know the people better.
We need more events like this! Hip Hip Hooray!
I will be at one of the bars stuffing my fat head with bowls of chili and pints of beer in celebration of life, living, sharing, raising awareness, getting healthy, stopping traffic for a few minutes, and to slow this crazy world down; even if just for a few hours on a cold Sunday in grumpy little Burlington.
Lakeshore Road is not a major highway by the way. It is a crowded two-lane dangerous city street that should be shut down permanently and made into a big sidewalk.
People who find it traumatic to live on the south side of Lakeshore should move to the north side; just trying to help again; another options I just thought up.
This most certainly is a transparency issue. Show me the numbers! How much actually goes to charity? How many people involved as organizers or sponsors have close ties to people at city hall? Why is a discussion of an alternate route not possible? Why isn’t the actual number of households in the road closure section available? Your glib remarks add nothing to the conversation. Your two closing statements are bizarre.
Hi. I quickly skimmed this article and noticed somebody complaining about runners, a birthday party schedule conflict, birds singing at a closed street hockey tournament, people enjoying themselves, gay pride parade? What is the issue here?
I humbly believe that the only people that should be complaining, are the runners. What crazy person scheduled this event for minus 10 degree weather anyways. I personally would rather drive than run.
But who am I to judge. However, I would like to propose an option especially for those citizens who live on the south side of Lakeshore (the waterfront side, along the shore of the lake) during the 2 hours of imminent danger. This option which we can call Plan B may also be suitable for those who also seem to have access challenges; they simply take a boat on the lake to their desired destination. This may sound a bit unusual, but, if one thinks it through, it is a very reasonable and practical solution.
Boating is fun also, and is a common form of transportation all around the world. When I was in Venice, we took something called a ‘gondola’, with a bottle of champagne; quite pleasant as I recall.
Anyways, just here to help whenever I can.
I hope sir that you can find the time to read this letter I sent to city hall in order to better understand the issue:
November 11, 2013
Dear Mayor Goldring and Councillors,
I am unable to attend Wednesday’s Council meeting to support the delegation presenting their concerns regarding the Chilly Half Marathon. I agree with these representatives who are speaking out against the race as it is presently being run. I find the inconvenience year after year to be annoying and it is unreasonable to simply continue with the status quo.
To lock so many residents in during such a lengthy time-period is completely unfair. It is important to note that many in this area are seniors and need regular daily assistance from health aides, who are blocked from providing their services during the race period. Each year as the race expanded in participants, the hours we are unable to exit our residence has increased, making our inconvenience greater. Residents along the Lakeshore were never given an opportunity to provide in-put regarding this particular race plan which is extremely troubling. Doesn’t this city have an Engagement Charter?
I was quite disturbed to learn that this is a “for profit race” and that the contribution to the hospital was essentially quite minimal and certainly not adequate considering the sacrifice demanded of the residents along the route. The way the race is advertised to me is really quite dishonest. It deliberately withholds information from the public giving a false impression that the benefit to our hospital is far more than what it does actually receive.
It is time for the city to make changes to the present route and respect the citizens of the Lakeshore area that are so affected by the route as it is now planned. There must be a more equitable route that can accommodate this race. And please stop the misleading advertising regarding this race. The runners and the public deserve better.
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The humour within your comment would have been more appreciated by me except that I am told that the group presenters on this issue were apparently treated in an undignified, unprofessional manner at the meeting. I believe the mayor even had to apologize afterwards. Bias was shown when the order of presenters was rearranged to favour Kelly Arnott who was moved to speaking at the end. Standard procedure was abandoned. What is really going on here?
I am very embarrassed by the Mayor’s apology. He is here to manage a city, not bow down to a bunch of chronic grumpy whiny people who exaggerate the minor inconvenience associated with a 2 hour road race. Nobody is shut in. Go have some fun with your neighbours, it will be good for your health. The problem at city hall is this council wastes an extraordinary amount of time listening to a few complainers at the expense of the silent majority who better understand the compromises made for the betterment of our society.
I understand all issues, that is why I am most wonderful, and here to provide all potential solutions to all problems, no matter how trivial.
Who are you really? You are the only one commenting on this article (thus far) that is using a pseudonym. I can’t help but wonder why. Are you connected to the organizers of this race? Is that why you write that the road will only be closed for 2 hours? The notice in my building said the closure is from 9:45 am to 1 pm. I am not a member of the group that is requesting an alternate route for this race. But I did sign the petition they presented. It is interesting that you resort to childish name calling and distorting facts. No one is shut in? Really? Do you actually believe that it is permissible for the mayor/councillors to be disrespectful to citizen presenters because of the positions of power they hold? It is important that community members have opportunities to speak to those at city hall about their concerns. It might be time consuming but that’s how a democracy works. Are businesses more important than the rest of the members of this community? Does it always have to be only about profit? Your final statement might be said in jest, but it truly reveals how meaningless your comments are within an exchange of opinions in an adult conversation.
Everyone is notified and given plenty of notice prior to the race. There are worse things to get upset about in this world, I don’t think this is something to get so upset about. I live by the Lakeshore in Toronto where we have two marathons every year that result in road closures. How is it that Toronto, with a population of over 2.5 million people can manage a race and Burlington, with a population of 165,000 cannot? This race is a good thing. It brings people together from all parts of the province, it’s great for tourism and it’s so motivating to see everyone out racing their hearts out in the cold weather. Last year I was watching and it inspired me to start training for a marathon. I usually only raced 5kms, so moving up that much is a huge deal for me. I’ve done a lot of races and VRPRO does the best job at organizing races. People are well notified and Jess and Kelly are doing their best to accommodate those who feel they have been inconvienced. People just have to make other arrangements for a couple of hours, no big deal. I think stressing about this is a waste if energy.
Vicky, you are misinformed. The notice in my building (and many others on the route) about who to call or email to make necessary arrangements to come and go during the race was put up by the group that wants the route changed. The race organizers failed in this regard. I would not have known about the options otherwise. And I believe there are still many along the route who do not know of the steps to take if they have to leave their homes. I concede that leaving to attend a grandchild’s birthday may appear petty to many depending on the family values they espouse. In my family it is of great significance. However, of greater concern to the public should be the number of seniors/elderly that are impacted negatively by this route. They need the free movement of their caregivers/health aides to come and go to attend to their daily needs. What did the race organizers do to contact them? Nothing. I have learned that once again the group advocating a route change took the time to notify Community Care about the race. How many in this category are negatively influenced by the route? Has anyone at city hall studied this aspect of the route? Will this only be considered after someone’s life is put at risk? The article states: “Could the race be run somewhere else – sure it could but why would you move a significant event off one of the nicest roads in the city?” My response: Are runners, many of whom hail from outside of Burlington like you, more important than the citizens who have paid their taxes faithfully for decades as members of this community? Are runners now equated to such a profound level of adulation that their needs/wishes surpass those of the citizens impacted by road closures? Does the minimal charitable benefit for our hospital or any other charity from this For-Profit race justify this route? Notice that no one is willing to reveal any numbers.
Furthermore, as I stated in another post: I choose to live in Burlington to avoid the chaos that often envelopes Toronto. Three of my four adult children and their families live there and love it. That is their choice. That is your choice. Don’t try to lay a ‘guilt trip’ on those of us who cherish a less hectic city life. You and all other running enthusiasts are welcome to come down and run the Lakeshore any time you like if it’s so great. Come down to enjoy/support our wonderful Lakeside restaurants and businesses. Just do it when the whole community doesn’t have to be locked in. Your right to run should not trample my right to freely leave or return to my home!
Hey man, you gotta go with the flow. I dont think anybody is going to step on your freedoms.
Take a shot of whiskey tonight, wake up to some fresh coffee and chill out man. Its all gonna be cool.
I am sick of all these races! Will this trend never end? You want to run…get out and run. You want to contribute to a charity…just do it! Why does that have to be tied to a race? What happened to good, old fashioned community fund-raisers that set a goal and often surpassed it. These races are nothing but a gimmick. They are an infringement on the public’s right to free movement. Kelly Arnott this is a business for you. You don’t do it out of the goodness of your heart because you care for this community. Jessica Wood I sent you an email. After a few days and no response, I called you. Now I have to call you again a half hour before I need to leave on Sunday in order to get an escort out of my building. For crying out loud! All I want to do is go to my grandson’s birthday luncheon in Toronto. It shouldn’t be such a big deal, but you have made it that. Many times people just can’t change their plans! Why don’t you change your plans and take this race to your own community as suggested in a previous opinion?! So little of the money raised actually goes to charity anyway because of the expenses. “Each runner gets a sweater – and they aren’t cheap, beer tickets, and of course that Tim Horton’s Chilli.” Give me a break!
Toronto shuts down for Caribana, Gay Pride, and numerous running and cycling events throughout the city at all times of the year. Everyone has a lot of fun doing these events, and it brings an overall joyous mood to the community.
Here’s some polite options, with respect: Have your grandson’s luncheon next weekend, or, bring him over to our street hockey tournament; get some fresh air, exercise, and listen to the birds singing “we want spring to come..lalalala”.
Imagine not having to deal with crossing the street full of cars for once, only other human beings in running shoes, with birds singing in the background. This will be a wonderful day for everyone.
Sir, I chose to live in Burlington, not Toronto for many reasons, one of them being to avoid all the hassles of such events as you list. You are getting very ridiculous with your suggestions. It is my daughter not I who has planned the luncheon and I am not the only guest involved. What nonsense in your response…birds singing???? human beings in running shoes??? Get serious. Volunteer your neighbourhood for the race if you think it is so great!
I think your party should be in Burlington to show your grandson how bad Toronto is in comparison, with all the hassles and everything.
Just imagine your grandson witnessing a day without cars, and hearing people laughing, and having fun for a good cause with birds singing in the background, and all sorts of people running around like a giant herd of good people. And then I hear they all go for lunch and have more fun.
At my closed street party hockey tournament, we are also having fun with food and loud music.
This winter has been so long, that we should consider closing down all city streets on a rotating basis, so people can discover themselves, and the beautiful world we share all around us; especially while we are still on this side of the pavement.
Chester, I feel like we are becoming pen pals but I don’t mind. I can’t help but wonder though…do you not realize that you are sounding more foolish with each comment you add? Please read about all the issues that surround this event and actually ponder its relevant consequences. I wish you luck with your tournament and hope you have the decency to allow passage on the road during the tournament to those who need to get in and out. That would be respectful. Also, I think some of your neighbours would be quite upset if you set this up as a for-profit activity and your “gain” meant their “pain”, so to speak.
Lucy, my husband is not foolish. He may have a problem communicating because English is not his first language.
Our neighbours are not aware of the hockey to be played by children. But, they are normal people who enjoy festive events that bring people together. They also know to stay in their houses when we are up to activities such as closing the street for pleasure purposes.
We currently live on the south side of Lakeshore and will be affected by the closures. Previous to this we lived in an area affected by the closures due to the Santa Clause parade, so feel well versed on the subject. If you have never been affected by such closures I don’t think you are in a position to comment. Some of the comments/suggestions on this forum are pretty ridiculous. We never received any information regarding the closures and it wasn’t until earlier this week that we noticed the sign on Guelph Line about the race and road closures. We will arrange to park our car on the other side of Lakeshore overnight so that we aren’t trapped in the morning. I hope that anybody living on the south side of Lakeshore and is in need of care during the time of the race is looked after. We are not against having this race but do take exception to Ms. Arnott’s comment that people can make other plans. Why not change the race route from year to year so as not to inconvenience the same people every year. I would also question where the figure of 375 households on the south side of Lakeshore came from. If you take into account the number of condos/apartments along the south side of the route this number must be incorrect. In fact, there must be many more people impacted by the road closures.
Great idea, next year we will bring our street hockey tournament to the south side of Lakeshore neighbourhood, even though it sounds a bit dangerous. Good thing also you take Arnott’s suggestion to make other plans, like moving your car the night before, so you dont become “trapped”. That reminds me of a good joke from the old country, about people getting trapped by pedestrian runners on city streets, but it kind of gets lost in translation.
Somebody else here also had a great idea about using a boat for transportation.
Your wife seems to think you have a language barrier but it may be that your judgement is blinded by hubris. We moved our vehicle to the north side of Lakeshore so that we had access to it during the run. It caused us little inconvenience, however, there may be those who are disabled or elderly who may have found it difficult to do this. (especially due to the overnight snowfall). I do not find the attempts at humour by yourself and the person who calls himself Mr. Wonderful helpful to the situation. But then again I guess “we don’t know to stay in our house” as suggested by your wife.
I’m thinking they don’t want to give the actual number of households because it might actually be closer to 1,500 (if not more). Now don’t get me wrong, I am guessing here and don’t want to exaggerate. Consider that there are 8 high rise buildings at my end alone and similar multi-dwelling buildings at the other end of Lakeshore. The 375 is far out of line! Are they actually counting only the number of houses? If we live in condos/apartments, don’t we count as households? The truth is being kept from the public, because it wouldn’t sound so great for organizers and city hall if they actually told the truth. Sad.
The chilly half did go down my street for years before the route changed. I personally loved it. It gave me a sense of pride knowing that all these runners and walkers choose my city to come run in. This was something we would just plan around. Being a runner and volunteer the chilly half marathon has done a good job working with all emergency services in Burlington to make sure that if any resident along the route needs assistance they will get it.
I look forward to event and will be out with my family cheering on the visitors to Burlington.
Jess…I just noticed something. Why is your name shown as Jess Wood? The email address I had for contacting you about an escort out on Sunday said: Jess Arnott. You chose to hide that here which is somewhat deceptive. Your glowing remarks praising and loving the race are obviously biased. You are a volunteer? Hmmm…how can I be sure that you are not on Kelly Arnott’s payroll (officially or unofficially)? Is Kelly your mom? It seems to me that the Arnotts sure carry a lot of weight at city hall. I find this troubling.
please email me or call 905-220-1785 and we will make sure we help you. if you can call Jessica at that number soon and she will arrange to meet you at a specific time. We do not want to cause any inconvenience which is why we ask you to call for us to help you our in any way possible or email me.
The road will not be closed down till after 10 am and opened up within a couple of hours but we can open it for you to help you. Thank you Kelly Arnott
Kelly, it states: “Arnott explains that there are 375 homes south of Lakeshore Road – that seems a little on the low side.” Let’s be clear: you are twisting the numbers. There are a large number of condominium buildings at both ends of the race route. My building alone represents over 100 households. The building next door to me represents another 150. That’s just in 2 buildings. The city and race planners are not telling the truth about the actual number of individual households that are impacted by this race! Shame on you!
The members of the working group CHANGE THE CHILLY HALF MARATHON are committed to collaborating with city staff and Ms. Arnott to have the route changed to one which would not block in residents for OVER 3 hours (as currently stated in the Burlington Post and on brochures.) The circulating petition in favour of changing the route already has over 150 signatures which is a very significant number considering that Ms. Arnott says there are only 375 homes south of Lakeshore.
This group would appreciate the opportunity to hear of the experiences and suggestions that these locked-in residents have had during both this and past races. Please send your emails to changechillyhalf@gmail.com
Please do not do this. This is not the way to manage a crisis such as this. You will only make matters worse. Trust me, there are more important issues which require immediate attention in this city.
To Kelly Arnott’s comment ” The race does disrupt traffic patterns – there is no arguing that point, but for the people who do live south of Lakeshore Road – they know when the event is taking place and they can make other plans.”
I would like to come and close your subdivision and tell you to make other plans…Your not getting in or out!!! Have some respect for the elderly at least that live down here. What if your parents lived here and needed special care and their help needed access. IOh..I guess they are to make other plans….forget about their care?? Give your head a shake. I personally DIDN’T have a problem with your race and do work around it but lets do it in your community next yr. A road is a road is a road!! Your turn for your community to host the race…
Perhaps the elderly that require such urgent and immediate access for care, should live closer to the hospital; just thinking for practical and safe solutions. Maybe the 2hour imposition of this road race has brought up other more important issues relating to how we treat our elderly and how we should probably not force them to live in such a potentially dangerous neighbourhood.
In response to Chester Staszynski comment,
Well….so now the elderly should move closer to the hospital……..and who has forced them to live in a dangerous neighbourhood …..It’s about moving the race to another neighbourhood for a change so that the COMMUNITY (We are not all elderly) is not being forced to to stay in the neighbourhood or stay out of the neighbourhood for a race. If you read the comments it is about having ANOTHER neighbourhood host the race, not moving the people….yes …PEOPLE…the elderly are people too!! And we should not have to “MAKE OTHER PLANS” as stated by Kelly Arnott!!! That was my beef from the get go!!
Just keep it out of my neighbourhood, we are planning on having a street hockey tournament all day long, and barbeque, and blocking off both ends of the street; we don’t need any runners disrupting our fun. Our neighbourhood policy was to provide all the complaining neighbours with a list of other fun things to do like going down to the run on Lakeshore, or, staying inside their homes to watch a movie; its not like you can garden or wash your car at this time of year. I dont understand all the hostile beefing going on about an event that brings people together, for health and recreation.
The Lakeshore run will bring sunshine and joy to a lot of people, and you may actually hear migrating birds singing for a change, instead of all the noisy cars driving seniors back and forth to all their appointments.
Sir, I don’t understand your logic. You simply reinforce the position of those who oppose this race when you say: “we don’t need any runners disrupting our fun.” You obviously don’t have much respect for your neighbours either who might object to your plans. Your closing statement is both silly and offensive to me. “…sunshine and joy…birds singing…instead of all the noisy cars driving seniors back and forth to all their appointments.” What rubbish!
Chester….If you had READ my posts you would of realized I have never complained about the races until K. Arnott’s comment “We should make other plans”!!!!
Well that statement applies to you and your neighbourhood to….Make other plans!! You should not stereotype!!! Because we live near or on Lakeshore we should just watch T.V to pass the time the race is on??? GIVE YOUR HEAD A SHAKE!!!
But heaven forbid if you have to make other plans for your Hockey tourny!!! Oh… double standards for Chester and HIS hood!! MAKE OTHER PLANS!!!