ST. PAUL – Student athletes from throughout the Lakeland gathered at the 43rd Annual RCMP Challenge Cup Relay on May 7, commonly referred to as the RCMP Road Race.
Teams from junior and senior high schools, including the RCMP's team, competed during the event. Over 200 athletes participated. Participating schools included Cold Lake High School, Glen Avon School, St. Paul Regional High School and St. Paul Alternate Centre, and École du Sommet.
The race started two miles west of St. Bride, then made its way down Highway 29 straight toward St. Paul, with the finish line set up at the Recreation Centre.
Each athlete ran a mile in the relay race.
Steven Duquette, investigative support assistant with Crime Reduction Unit based in St. Paul, as well as the coordinator of the race, thanked various emergency services and groups, who helped create a safe race for everyone, including the Alberta Sheriff's Branch, EMS, and the St. Paul Fire Department.
"This event is really important to us because it gives us an opportunity for our youth to interact with RCMP members in a fun and enjoyable environment," he said, explaining it also allows the RCMP to build positive relationship and trust with youth, "So that kids feel safe approaching a member of the RCMP if they ever need them."
Duquette hoped that if ever the youth deal with the RCMP, to try and not see it "in a context of just pure authority."
"They're people too. They're humans. They care about you and they're ultimately there to help," he said, before expressing his admiration to all participants for the grit they showed during the race. "At the finish line, they're in like a state of complete mental and physical exhaustion," he said.
"They worked really hard."
Cold Lake High School once again won this year's race in the senior high category. This would be the school's fourth time winning the Road Race out of its four participations, said Jenna Cherniwchan, the school's track and field and cross-country running coach.
Cherniwchan said her athletes are always excited to be a part of the community. "It's just such a positive environment and everyone just tries their hardest," she said. "It's a great event and we're always happy to come," Cherniwchan added, before thanking the RCMP for the "beautiful job of putting it on."
Janine Poirier is the coach for École Racette Junior High School's teams. Racette had five teams competing; three competitive and two that participated in the open race. One of their teams won first place in the junior category.
"We're super proud of the kids," said Poirier. "They ran . . . [and] trained really hard, so it's nice to see all their training come to fruition."
Speaking on the importance of the event, "It's good [because] it helps them feel like a part of the team in the school community and they really enjoy it," she concluded.
