By Max Bowder
August 3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Speculation, due to the rise in covid cases, that the Chili Half marathon might have some problems with scheduling, Kelly Arnott, the race organizer, announced that they expect to proceed as planned and that as of now the Chili Half Marathon is on for March 6th, 2022.
The Chili Marathon’s organizer Kelly Arnott has taken all precautions to ensure the safety of all those competing in the marathon.
“We follow the rules and regulations that Athletics Ontario has set out for safe road races,” said Arnott.
Krista Duchene and Kelly Arnott
As a part of her safety policies, every runner competing in the race will need to be fully vaccinated in order to assure public safety, other policies include no big line ups at the start of the race (having runners show up at the time they are seated), having one racer start every 10 seconds and participants needing to bring their own water as there will be no water stations.
Runners must wear a mask at the start of the race and are allowed to take it off while running, putting it back on as they approach the finish line.
Arnott has said if the marathon approaches during a Covid spike, the marathon will be done virtually or even cancelled.
Virtual marathons allow anybody to compete in the marathon by having everyone run from where they choose such as in their neighborhood or even on a treadmill and record what their distance was, how long they ran for and what pace they ran at.
Arnott also has the experience of knowing how to run a marathon in a pandemic as she organized one of her marathons in the middle of the SARS outbreak.
Winners of the marathon usually win cash prizes (up to $500) as well as free future entries and free hotel rooms.
Krista Duchene – ran in Burlington and grew to become an Olympian qualifier.
Prominent Canadian Olympians have competed in and won in the Chili Marathon including Krista Duchene and Reid Coolsaet.
Duchene competed in the Chili Marathon as her first run after breaking her femur in the Banque Scotia 21k De Montreal Marathon which required rehabilitation after her injury.
Duchene winning the Chili Marathon had qualified her to run in the Dusseldorf Marathon which qualified her for the Olympics.
Arnott will also be hosting a garage/bake sale as a fundraiser for the Holy Cross church at 3455 Lakeshore Road, west of Walkers Line on Saturday August 7th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
The Chili Half Marathon has raised $200,000 for Joseph Brant hospital and continues to raise money today, people are encouraged to donate on the Chili Marathon home page
Arnott was approached some time ago by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to host the first “CIBC run for the cure” marathon in 1992 and continued to host the event for the next five years during which they raised more than $1 million.
The Chili Marathon has been happening for over 20 years with the first being hosted in 1999 (back then called the Millennium Marathon).
Arnott started her long marathon organizing career when she opened her first store in Village Square called the Village Runner after working in her dad’s shoe business.
The Village Runner was a high end fashion shoe store before financial circumstances compelled her into selling running shoes, which then evolved to running programs.
If there is a good reason for a race – Kelly Arnott will do everything she can to organize one. The Canada Day event in 2016 was an example.
It was there she decided to put on races and programs to teach people how to run for marathons.
Arnott has remained active in her community for over 25 years; she ran for a City Council seat in 2014 coming in second of 4 candidates.
That election was “an eye opener … its not really a 60% effort it, it’s either 100% or nothing,” said Arnott
Max Bowder is a second year journalism student at Sheridan College. He is part of a team with the Gazette on the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the federal government. Before enrolling at Sheridan Max volunteered in a community in Venezuela where he worked with young people. He is a Burlington resident who helps out on the family farm in Milton.
