What began as a personal passion project for us has become a community event that we are fiercely proud of. In 2009, we hosted 50 runners and grew to over 175 in 2019 with an annual economic impact of over $80,000. We have seen a lot of changes in the past decade. Pre-COVID, we noticed our run community was looking for authentic connections and an experience that reflected our unique destination. With everything from our run snacks, to the shirt on thier backs and a delicious post-run lunch – we are supporting hyperlocal in all of its expressions.
We’ve got great plans in the works for 2021 and whether we take home a medal at the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario Gala Awards on October 28th or not, we already feel like a winner because of what we get to do with all of our partners and event participants in PEC – THANK YOU!
We have held on as long as possible to see if we could make our 10th Terroir Run a reality this spring, however, it appears that the decision is no longer ours to make. Following recommendations from our Federal and Provincial governments not to gather in groups until sometime this summer (and only if it’s safe to do so then), we have chosen to set our targets to run together again on May 29th, 2021.
All of our registered runners have been refunded. We will set up registration for the 2021 10th Anniversary was we can get a better sense of the realities of this pandemic. We hope everyone stays healthy, keeps running, and supports our PEC run partners by buying gift certificates to their restaurants, purchasing their wine, beer, cider, spirits, tea, and coffee online, and lastly, but certainly not least – by supporting the ROC Youth Centre, you can donate directly to them here https://theroc.ca/donate/
For the past several years our charity of choice has been the ROC & The Prince Edward County Youth Centre. We chose to support the ROC because we wanted to see the funds we raised making an impact and support youth in the community that we care so much about. As you can see, the $5000 contribution we made in 2019 met those goals!
For our 10th Anniversary run, we are doubling down and aiming to raise $10,000 for the ROC! A BIG thanks to all of our run supporters and runners who help to make this happen. Also a BIG thanks to the folks at the ROC for giving youth a safe and supervised space to grow and flourish!
There’s really not much more to say, on May 30th, 2020 the 10th Annual Terroir Run will begin at Rosehall Run (how apropos, and to the “pop” of a cork no less) and scamper the bucolic backroads past vineyards aplenty. We’ll arrive at The Old Third Vineyard in pairs, and groups and even some rocketing alone to personal bests – but we’ll arrive, gather, celebrate and break bread together. We’ll also raise funds for a great organization, one that is of special value to the youth of Prince Edward County and close to our hearts –food and education at The ROC. In the following months, we’ll revisit the past nine runs and highlight many of the amazing partners, volunteers, and stories that make our little run special.
So, what do we want you to do? Accept Rebecca and my appreciation for your continued support and enthusiasm – we won’t disappoint as this year’s run will be extra special – and for those who want to join our 10th Terroir Run get your tickets NOW. Registration has opened and for those who don’t know, our run is kept small (150 runners) to ensure an exceptional experience for everyone. As a result, we sell out quickly so please don’t wait!
We’ll leave you with a funny little quote that sums up our surprise at how quickly the first ten years have passed, and our hopes that another follows like Parsons’ Brewery’s vintage orange VW van.
“My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already.” –Milton Berle
WOW – this year’s run was AWESOME! Despite a slightly rocky registration process due to our new format, things got off to a great start when we all arrived at Rosehall Run Vineyards to kick off the 10.8km journey.
Yes, folks, this is not your average run – it’s not 10km exactly. It’s not a race, however, our top 3 female and male finishers do get to come run with us in 2020 as our guests. A big congrats to our top 6 runners who sped to the finish in under 40 minutes (again – as it’s not a race so we don’t have exact times): Laura Couvrette, Natalie Slomka, Kate Barrett, Dylan Barlow, Phil Teijeira and Tom McColeman.
Run registration DOES include an outstanding post-run party with lunch handmade by Chef Albert Ponzo (The Royal Hotel) and Chef Karin Desveaux and her culinary team from Loyalist College served with libations from our run partners including iced tea from Pluck Teas, wines from all of our winery partners, custom cocktails from Kinsip, ciders from The County Cider Co and chilly beers from Parsons Brewing Co!
Our runners brought some serious ZEST to the day with costumes ranging from a moose and his hunt club, a hive of bees, Cinderella, Flash Gordon, a bevy of brides, some pretty pink pigs, a bunch of brave hearts and some wine mavens.
We are so grateful to our run supporters whose participation enabled us to donate $5000 to the ROC and the Prince Edward County Youth Centre. “We are so grateful to Terroir Run for their generous donation to the PEC Youth Centre! Funds raised by Terroir Run specifically support the provision of nutritious meals and snacks and cover the cost of cabs from ROC programming. Lack of healthy food and access to transportation cause barriers that keep youth from participating in the programs and supports they need. With the help of Terroir Run, ROC continues to provide programming at no cost to all youth in a space where they feel safe, included and are able to reach their full potential.” – Darlene Thompson, Executive Director
We wanted to share a few more insights about our 2019 Terroir Run. We had 153 runners and 31 post-run lunch guests (yes – you can buy tickets to the lunch only to join your friends and family members who run with us). 73% of our runners were women and 27% were men. The majority of our runners (74%) are in their 30’s and 40’s with 23% over 50 years of age. 82% of our runners hailed from Ontario and this year we had a whopping 18% join us from Quebec!
38% of our runners had run with us before. 47% of our runners heard about us through the grapevine (word of mouth) and the power of social media brought another 15% of our runners to us.
The majority of our runners stayed in PEC for 2 nights (72%) with the balance staying for one night (11%) or staying at home as they live close by. Most of our out of town runners stayed in hotels or B&B’s (55%) with the balance staying with friends and family.
70% of our runners took the opportunity to explore the County and visited wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries while here. 44% of our runners spent between $101-$250 on food and beverage purchases while in PEC and 47% spent $250+++ eating and drinking their way around our delicious county!
Our run is a social enterprise, a passion project and, a way for Andrew and I to give back to a community that we love. A way to support local businesses and truly showcase a taste of place. We encourage you to save the date May 30th, 2020 for our 10th-anniversary run – registration will open Oct 1st, 2019!
