It has been seven years since TeamCIM ran its first races in Ottawa – When a very small group of runners piled in a van and trekked to the nation’s capital. We were excited to have a handful of folks join in to meet us at the finish line. We had no cheering station, mis-matched running tees, and I sure couldn’t tell you where we slept that weekend. All we knew was that it felt amazing to be part of a team of people who get it – something that’s surprisingly hard to come by in the world of Type 1 diabetes.
I had thought about running races in the past. In fact, years before I had signed up to join Team Type 1 Diabetes in a race in Toronto, but soon realized that the real drive behind the team was fundraising, and that wasn’t really what I was looking for. I wanted the other things that came along with being part of a team – the camaraderie and connectedness; others’ expertise and experiences with running and Type 1 diabetes; having someone to run with who ‘gets it’, or the excitement of spotting another teammate out on the course. And imagine being able to be part of a team without HAVING to run? Imagine a team where the cheering/support crew is an integral piece of the team?
Seven years ago TeamCIM set out to do things just a little bit differently – I think we’ve really hit our stride!
This past weekend, over 50 individuals joined TeamCIM to participate in the race weekend festivities. We had runners in each of the weekend’s major races – the 5k, 10k, Half and Full Marathons – as well as a dedicated crew who brought our Inspiration Station (formally known as the Cheer Station) to life. The energy was palpable.
On Friday night, new and returning team members alike were invited to join us for a team Meet and Greet at Mill Street Brew Pub. It was a great chance to connect, catch up, and relax before the weekend festivities began.
On Saturday, our Inspiration Station team rolled in mid-afternoon to get the energy pumping. With a sign-making station, noise makers, and a sound system complete with 90s-themed (okay, not just 90s, but those were my favourite) beats (Thank you to the team at Centennial Glass for making this possible, and to Scott Fitzgerald for compiling the epic mix of music), we were, without a doubt, the loudest, brightest, most enthusiastic, and most encouraging cheer station on the 5k and 10k routes! Situated just 800m from the finish line of both races, the TeamCIM cheering squad provided that little extra push that propelled people to the end of their races. High fives were free and abundant. It was always a highlight when one of the racers would seem to be cheering right back at us with just as much enthusiasm as our cheerers. A special shoutout to the folks who rolled in early to make sure the Inspiration Station was nothing short of spectacular including Patti and Don Hanson, Debbie and Don Cameron, Rebecca, Scott and Maddison Fitzgerald, Shauna Adeland, Stephen Hairsine, and Amy Burrows. In the words of one of my favourite Inspiration Station Posters: You are the wind beneath my wings!
TeamCIM’s race day officially kicked off with 10 runners taking on the 5k at 4pm. Michelle Sorensen, Luke Cameron, Rebecca Fitzgerald (and myself!) warmed up the cheering station with run-by high-fives!
Next up, was the 10k race, with 14 TeamCIM runners – including Luke Cameron running his second race of the day and Stephanie Brodie running a satellite 10k back home in Mississauga (Check out Steph’s check-ins from her satellite run on the CIM Facebook Page!) We witnessed our first runners taking advantage of the chalk-art hop-scotch and power-up stars located in front of the Inspiration Station and could hardly keep track of the runners flying by! Congratulations to Amy Burrows, Luke Cameron, Stephen Hairsine, Tammy Hand, Treena Hansen, Pat Lynch, Dave Praetorius, Aaron Rostas, Meghan Sauve, Melanie Scott, Dan Senior, Maggie Schmidt, and Stephanie Brodie. In the words of one of my favourite Inspiration Station Posters: You don’t sweat, you sparkle!
Congratulations is also in order to the Inspiration Station team who stuck around to cheer the very last runner across the finish line. This is something that has come to be a staple among the TeamCIM cheerers. The runners bringing up the rear are just as important as the first ones to fly by and deserve just as much support for their accomplishment. Way to make the CIM community proud, cheerers! Props to the folks who came out and put in a solid 16 hours over the weekend at the Cheer Station: Shauna Adeland, Virtue Bajurny, Patti Schmidt, John Schmidt, Brooke Pressey, Don Hanson, Patti Hanson, Becky Nelson, Debbie Cameron, Don Cameron, Scott Fitzgerald, Maddison Fitzgerald, Sarah Morris, Tricia Beath, and Alivia Goldenberg. In the words of one of my favourite Inspiration Station Posters: You don’t sweat, you sparkle! 
Thank you SO MUCH to the team at Animas Canada for keeping us fueled and providing the snacks and food at the Inspiration Station on Saturday evening. If you’d like to learn anymore about the Animas Vibe or the Dexcom G4, be sure to check out the Animas Website – or contact Ottawa’s Territory Manager, Ryan Szaraz (rszaraz@its.jnj.com) for more information.
Both the Half and Full marathon races took place on Sunday morning.
TeamCIM had nine runners (including, guess who – Luke Cameron!) take on the half marathon races. Months of hard work were rewarded by a bright and sunny morning to run along the canal in beautiful Ottawa. A special shout-out to Drew Mikhail who finished in an amazing 1:40 and to Tammy Marcinko who put in all of the hard work to train to get to Ottawa but wasn’t able to hit pavement on race day – Lots of love, Tammy! Congrats to Katie Devos, Luke Cameron, Chris Carmichael, Kari-Leagh Benninghaus, Duncan Jamison, Anne Marie Hospod, and Lisa Praetorius for kicking the course’s butt. In the words of one of my favourite Inspiration Station Posters: You run better than our government!
And then came the Full Marathon and the one TeamCIM-er who took on all 42.2km of it. For anyone who was following #TeamCIM and Hank on marathon day, you know that it was not a good Type 1 diabetes day. That may be one of the worst parts of Type 1 diabetes. You can think you have it under control and it can come back and totally kick your butt. Well for anyone who knows Hank, you know his butt cannot be kicked lightly (I know that makes no sense. I just really wanted to keep that sentence!) For well over 25km of the race, Hank battled with a roller coaster of BGs. Highs causing some pretty serious cramping followed by an epic 2 hours of low BGs. Hank guesses that he consumed close to 500 carbs during his first 20km. Picture that – That’s over 5 LITRES of juice. While running a marathon.
One of my favourite parts of being a part of TeamCIM is the amazing support that the Type 1 diabetes community shows each other. Many of TeamCIM’s runners and cheerers joined in for portions of the marathon to encourage Hank – Some AFTER running their own 5k! By the time Hank reached the 30km mark, his crew (fondly dubbed ‘Hank’s Entourage’) had grown to include what could only be described as of a bike (the man-powered kind) gang, as well as a handful of runners, supporting in full Flying-V style.
As Hank rounded the corner to take on his last kilometer of the marathon, I’m sure the TeamCIM Inspiration Station could be heard in Gatineau. Everyone was so excited to cheer on the final TeamCIM runner of the day. The energy was palpable. Congratulations, Hank, on your amazing accomplishment. We can’t wait to cheer you on in your next marathon!
In true TeamCIM style, we stayed to sing, dance, clap, and cheer the very last marathoners, along with Bonnie’s Angels (if you don’t know about them – you need to check it out!) into the finishing stretch.
Now, I mentioned earlier that TeamCIM does things a little differently, and boy, did this weekend speak to that in so many ways! Although fundraising is not required to a part of TeamCIM, we are so grateful for the individuals who work so hard to raise some dollar-bills for the Connected in Motion community. This year, sixteen individuals from TeamCIM fundraised and helped Connected in Motion raise $8701 to support our programming across the country!
A few of our fundraisers deserve some extra love. This year’s TOP FUNDRAISER was 2012 Inspiration Award Winner, Luke Cameron. Luke raised $2616 for Connected in Motion, literally overnight. With that, Luke becomes Connected in Motion’s all-time leading fundraiser and we’ve got a special surprise in store for him! (More on that in a future blog.) THANK YOU LUKE. We are forever grateful for your love and support. In the words of one of my favourite Inspiration Station Posters: You’re Kinda a Big Deal.
Shoutout to Rebecca Cameron, as well, who never ceases to amaze us with her fundraising efforts. Once again, Rebecca raised over $1000 for Connected in Motion, all while committing countless hours to making the Ottawa Race Weekend a success with her logistics mastery. THANK YOU, Rebecca!
And a final fundraising fist pump to Amy Burrows, who more than DOUBLED her fundraising goal, bringing in over $1000 to support Connected in Motion! Keep an eye out for Amy as she guides Connected in Motion’s 5.5er and Annual Canoe Trips this summer! We love you, Amy!
Thank you to every person who fundraised on behalf of CIM this year. You are what keep us going and provide US with the inspiration we need to continue to breathe fresh air into diabetes education. Love to Hank Devos, Pat Lynch, Michelle Sorensen, Tammy Marcinko, Steph Brodie, Tammy Hand, Katie De Vos, Meghan Sauve, Becky Nelson, Kari-Leagh Benninghaus, and Duncan Jamieson.
Now I’m sure what you’ve all been waiting for.. THE WINNER OF THE CHEER STATION COMPETITION!
Drum roll please….
We still haven’t heard – But there is NO QUESTION in our mind who the champion is. Plus, this gives us another chance to blog and brag about our cheer team. Stay tuned!
THANK YOU once again to Animas Canada for their ongoing love and support, as well as to Centennial Glass for helping us kick our cheer station up a notch (or three.) Next time you see the folks from Animas or Centennial Glass, give them a big high five on behalf of the CIM community.
LOVE to Shauna Adeland, Rebecca Fitzgerald, Virtue Bajurny and Julie De Vos who were the power and energy behind the organizing of this entire weekend. We could never have done this without you. THANK YOU!
THANK YOU to Hank Devos for the film you captured during the weekend (all while prepping to run a marathon!) and to Virtue Bajurny for the photos and social media (all while cheering for 16 hours!)
So what’s next for TeamCIM? We’ve created a special Facebook Page for our TeamCIM crew – the runners, cyclists, paddlers, and cheerers – to join in on a conversation about staying healthy and active. Please head on over and request to join – This will be a place to keep in the loop about upcoming TeamCIM happenings (we’re hearing rumours of the Bracebridge Try-a-Tri being next on the docket?!) and to post your favourite articles, tips and tricks for staying on top of being active. See you there!
