Bonnyville’s First Colour Run this Saturday

Colour runs have been trending high for the last few years; however, there has yet to be one held in Bonnyville… That is until  this upcoming Saturday, when Broadacres Addiction Centre is hosting the inaugural event.

“We really want to bring awareness to the centre; but also put on a really fun, family event,” Kim Brochu, event coordinator, explains Broadacres Addiction Centre opened recently in Glendon. “We are not government operated or funded,” Brochu says another benefit of the event will be to help keep costs of treatment affordable. “Money will be used to help people who can’t otherwise afford treatment.”

The Road to Recovery 5K Colour Run is designed to be a run or walk, assures Brochu, “we wanted to make sure that everyone can come out and have fun. Moms can bring their strollers and kids or the athletics can run it.” The run/walk will start at Little Leap Park/Splash Park area of Jesse Lake and continue to the west end of the trail. Due to maintenance, the trail is not open on the backside, so the run/walk will turn around and continue back to Little Leap Park. The race gets started at 1:00 pm, with registration between 11:00 am & 1:00 pm.

Here’s the fun part, participants will be given a white t-shirt at the start of the event, then during the run/walk participants will be splashed with colour bags at various checkstops. By the time they’re finished their shirts are unique and multi-coloured.

After the race there will be a BBQ (sponsored by Hamel Meats), face painting, games, loopyball and a concert from Renee Malo! The after party, which starts at 2:30 pm,  is open to the public and participants. There’s also prize draws for participants; including the grand prize draw of a 32″ Toshiba 720p TV.

There are some unique treatments offered at the Broadacres Addiction Centre, that are not offered at other facilities, “we are the only treatment centre in the area that offers detox.” Brochu explains that other centres require a patient to be sober for a set amount of time or to detox in the hospital, “patients would have to go to the ER to detox and that takes away from hospital resources and it is not always possible, if for instance there are not enough beds.” Broadacres has certified staff and appropriate facility needs to allow for treatment from detox to recovery.

The run/walk is $35, preregistration is desirable, however they will be registering day-of as well from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. For more information on the event and Broadacres Addiction Centre, visit broadacresaddiction.org.