The Moon in June Road Run in Burlington celebrates 36 years of giving back

Saturday marked the 36th annual Moon in June Road Race fundraiser held in downtown Burlington, which has raised over $1 million for local charities.

All monies raised from the road race this year will go directly to the Children’s Aid Foundation of Halton (CAFH), to help more children receive the timely help they need.

The road race is one of the longest standing charitable running events in Halton, with runners and families taking part in one of many featured courses.

Greg Pace, the Moon in June event director, says that he has been organizing the race each year.

“There’s so many reasons why we started wanted to race with distinction – so we thought we would do it at night,” said Pace. “Moon in June is such a great catch and it’s evolved now with [the addition of] a car show during the day, and a kid’s festival.”

Between 1,400 to 1,500 people had attended the event – either to race or to cheer people on who were taking part – an increase from around 1,200 people from last year.

“The City of Burlington are so accommodating to us – they close all of downtown, they closed the roads,” said Pace. “It’s a really great opportunity for people to run, right beside the lake, then they go up into the neighbourhoods where all the neighbours are out with their hoses and sound systems – it’s just a great 5 km party all the way around.”

The event featured:

• The Movati Meredith’s 1 km run for kids between the ages of one and 12 years old at 6:30 p.m.;
• The MNP 5 km walk-and-run at 6:30 p.m.;
• Gordon’s Great Grand K walk for seniors at 6:45 p.m.;
• a 5 km walk-and-run, and a 10 km run at 7:30 p.m., with a grand post-race party with live band performances after the race.

The Rocca Sisters also held a pre-race KidFest ran from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., providing kids with games, face painting and a variety of activities at no charge.

The course is a flat singular loop spanning at a certified 5 km, with two loops making up 10 km.

The road race’s official website reads that the event is organized by volunteers and has no paid staff.

The programs supported by the CAFH are in addition to the basic protection work funded by the Ontario government.

Tina Blatchford, the executive director of the CAFH told CHCH News that the race raised around $32,000 last year.

“These funds go towards programs that are in addition to the protection services there,” said Blatchford. “Things like post-secondary education, mentoring programs… we have a program that is helping keep families together in the community as well.”

“These funds go directly to grassroots programs in this community,” she said.

These programs are not completely funded through the government, meaning donations from the Moon in June are relied on to sustain the additional resources provided to the at-risk children in local communities.

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