Chasing community over kilometres in Yellowknife’s Madeline Lake Run

Twenty-two Yellowknifers chose to run more than 25 kilometres on a chilly fall day, not for a medal but for the food, fire and friends awaiting them at the end.

“The kilometres don’t really matter. It’s more a community thing. We support each other,” said organizer Matthew Yiu.

The Madeline Lake Run has been organized almost annually since 2017. Yiu is the fourth person to organize the self-supported event, though he described it as a collaborative effort with volunteers who managed the fire and cooked the barbecue at the end.

That community is what motivated runner Jessica Chenkie to participate for the first time after hearing about it for years.

“I love hanging out by the fire with my friends at the end and eating snacks, and that’s what it’s all about,” said Chenkie.

“I met so many of my good friends running that I hang out with all the time, and it’s now my main friend group.”

It was a cloudy and brisk 7C when the group took off from the Welcome to Yellowknife sign just after 8:30am on Saturday, but runners were grateful it wasn’t raining or snowing like previous years.

The weather was “a little chilly, and it seemed to be a little breezy the whole time. It was nice to keep you from getting too hot,” said Darren Bilinski, also a first-time participant.

Some people chose to run eight kilometres along the Ingraham Trail to Yellowknife River, while others had a goal of running more than 25 kilometres to Madeline Lake, northeast of the territorial capital.

“I know it’s a very intimidating length,” said Yiu, “but you don’t have to do the whole thing. Just come out and have fun.”

Along the route, support cars cheered on runners and helped anyone in need.

Yiu is unsure if he’ll organize the run again next year. Both Bilinski and Chenkie said they would definitely participate again.

“Anybody who says that it’s flat up here, I challenge you to run out to Madeline Lake and find out just how many hills there are,” Bilinski joked.

“It’s just something that I think is fun to do for everybody,” said Yiu.