Runners raise nearly $7,000 for Yellowknife coffee shops

Yellowknife’s Sunday “Coffee Run” raked in nearly $7,000 for four local coffee shops.

Cameron Twa, one of the organizers, was expecting about 70 or 80 people to sign up. Instead, 280 Yellowknifers spent their Sunday morning running or walking a distance of three, five, 10, or 19 kilometres to support coffee shops shuttered by Covid-19.

Their $30 race entry fee went directly to Javaroma Gourmet Coffee, Birchwood Coffee Kǫ̀, Barren Ground Coffee, and Gourmet Cup Beverage Station. Of that fee, $20 will come back to each runner in gift card form this week.

“It turned into something big,” said Twa. Normally, the fun runs he helps organize get around 130 participants.

He suspects the higher number this year can be attributed to a few things: people could complete the walk or run on their own time and select their own route; all money raised went directly back to coffee shops struggling during the pandemic; and the nice weather has people wanting to get outside and run.

The run also gave people an opportunity to socialize from a distance.

“I noticed in the community that a lot of people aren’t saying hi or talking to other people, like when you’re walking on the trail,” Twa observed. “I was talking to other people from different towns and they’re noticing the same thing.

“This was a really great chance for people to also get out there and be a part of the community – to wave and to cheer people on. Everybody who was out on Sunday morning was probably with this event and I think people needed to have a little bit of community spirit as well.”

The run was the first in this year’s series of fun runs or walks. While there is usually one held on Mother’s Day, the next run has not yet been scheduled.