Participants of the fifth annual Muscles in Motion on Saturday may still be reeling from the effects of the event’s various gruelling activities. But while their pain will fade, it won’t for those who suffer from muscular dystrophy.
That’s the message event organizer Kim Reinhart wants participants to take away from the day, which saw 55 people taking part in four- and eight-kilometre runs, after which ten teams put their endurance to the test in a firefighters fitness challenge at Jarvis Bay Provincial Park.
Although final totals haven’t yet been tallied, the event, according to Reinhart, raised more than $16,000 for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
“There were some pretty tired individuals,” she said with a laugh. “It was awesome though.”
The event also resulted in a heightened local awareness of muscular dystrophy — a disorder characterized by the weakening of muscles over time. Reinhart’s nephew suffers from the disorder.
“As much as we complain, we get to go home and recover and get back to normal tomorrow, where he goes home and struggles every day and gets progressively worse,” she said. “As of now there’s no cure, and so our goal is to raise awareness.”
As owner of Optimal Fitness where she’s also a personal trainer, Reinhart saw Muscles in Motion as the ideal way to raise both money and awareness for the cause.
This year, she feels she outdid herself in her bid to “design the toughest course possible” for the firefighters fitness challenge — comprising a series of physical activities designed to emulate those carried out by firefighters in training.
And that real firefighters from the Sylvan Lake Fire Department were able to attend the event for the first time this year made it all the more special, she feels.
“That was huge for us,” she said. “I’m hoping by having them this year that maybe surrounding departments will join next year. Firefighters are known to be huge supporters of the charity itself.”
Not to be outdone by their adult counterparts, children kicked off the day’s events with a one-kilometre kids run and mini challenge. About 20 children took part.
The event will be held again next year, likely on the last weekend of May.