ATHABASCA – It won’t be the usual kind of memorial.
On Saturday Aug. 28, family, friends and well-wishers will honour Lisa Day, who passed away this spring, by doing one of the things she loved most — running on Athabasca’s Muskeg Creek Trails.
Lisa was an avid runner, and was a fixture at many local marathons, triathlons and other events that encouraged physical activity, but she was also a teacher at Landing Trail Intermediate School, and to her, both those passions were inextricably linked.
Husband Will, who, along with their five sons, is organizing the run with the help of many friends, noted Lisa had just finished her Master's Degree in Education, for which she studied how physical activity is connected to learning.
“Even when she got sick, she intended to beat it and keep running. She wasn't willing to say I'm sick, I'm tired, she kept doing 3K up until the month before she passed away,” he said.
Everyone is invited to attend, whether they knew Lisa or not, he continued. There will be 10K, 5K, and 1K races, some will walk and some will run, and some will be more competitive than others.
There were about 100 people planning to be in attendance as of last Friday, but Will says he’s not sure exactly how many to expect as Lisa has a large family and has taught at several schools throughout the region in more than a decade of teaching, making a lot of friends and touching a lot of lives along the way.
Lisa was never a big fan of funerals and always said she would rather have a run than a funeral in her memory, so that’s exactly the plan, said Will, adding the memorial marathon was very much planned by Lisa herself.
“I know she just hated the whole idea of them, and they're sad. She's like, 'I can cry at home, I want to go celebrate.'”
The event gets underway at 10 a.m. at the trail entrance near LTIS. There will be a short speech to start, and there will be live music from the Reformed Church band, including Kai Day on piano, which will be broadcast along the trail. Participants will also be greeted with different collages of Lisa’s photos as they put the kilometres behind them.
“I'm hoping it turns out well,” said Will. “I would love it if a lot of funerals were like that. The idea of grieving, while you have movement, there's something to it.”
If you are interested in taking part in the event, please complete the Google Form for each participant at forms.gle/Vx88Va4i3FcnaP5e9 so organizers have a idea of how many will be on the trails for each distance. That will also ensure there are enough keepsake "Lisa's Run" finisher medals for all who are interested.
