Since the first running of the Handloggers Half Marathon (handloggershalf.com) course by a small group of friends in 2014, we’ve been grateful to host six totally awesome prior events thanks to near perfect weather and a growing number of participants each year.
Each year we were so grateful to participants for making possible our significant contributions to the Bowen Island Trail Society and Akili Girls Preparatory School. Funds have been used to support trail navigation improvements on Bowen Island and athletic facilities at the Akili School in Kenya.
This year turned out differently and COVID-19 forced us back to basics. We continued to raise funds for the Bowen Island Trail Society (bowenislandtrailsociety.com) by offering the opportunity for Handloggers alumni to run a virtual trail half marathon which could be run on trails anywhere in the world.
We were delighted to have had 44 registered participants and many unofficial runners supporting the event. Here on Bowen a few Island runners chose to run the actual Handloggers course while some folks got creative with their own variations.
Dave Beckley from North Vancouver completed his seventh consecutive race on the Bowen Island course (well done Dave!). Emily Osborne (of Bowen Island) gathered a group of 16 hardy Wellington runners to join a Handloggers Downunder trail run (in rainy windy Welly, NZ). John Lambert (long time supporter of the race) even completed the Handloggers Half and Half - running the Bowen Island course twice in opposite directions. We also had several runners running south of the border from Massachusetts to California and Washington and even a registered alumni running in Switzerland.
The Handloggers Half Marathon Association is very grateful for this solid show of support for the event and particularly for all the generous donations made to the Bowen Island Trail Society (BITS). Funds raised will continue to support navigation and trail improvements for non-motorized trail users on Bowen Island’s trails. For more information see the BITS Facebook group or bowenislandtrailsociety.ca.
We hope to be back next year to pick up the tradition of Handloggers Half on the Labour Day weekend. Until then, we’ll continue the spirit of the event by looking after Bowen Island’s trails, and each other.
