AMA Youth Run Club heads north for its 2016-17 season-end event

June 15, 2017

Submitted by: Vanda Killeen, Alberta Medical Association

Fort McMurray’s MacDonald Island Park buzzed with activity, as over 300 Fort McMurray students, teachers and families gathered to celebrate physical activity and Canada’s 150th birthday, with the Alberta Medical Association Youth Run Club’s end-of-season Fun Run; an event that was featured on the ParticipACTION 150 Play List national tour.

Identified as a Tour Stop & Event on the ParticipACTION 150 Play List (in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the 150 Play List “features 150 activities that define our land and people”) the Youth Run Club’s end-of-(school) year Fun Run was accompanied by a showcase sampling of ParticipACTION 150 Play List activities, including kayak and surfboard simulators, field hockey, stick pull and Tae Kwon Do.

“We’re very excited to bring the AMA Youth Run Club to Fort McMurray to run with members of our four local Youth Run Clubs and so many other students and teachers from Fort McMurray schools,” Dr. Padraic Carr, President of the AMA, commented to the crowd. “And we couldn’t think of a community or a group of students more deserving of a Fun Run.”

AMA Youth Run Club

Through the AMA Youth Run Club, a partnership of the Alberta Medical Association and Ever Active Schools, AMA member physicians, medical students and residents can meet with the children, teachers and families of their communities to encourage physical activity and healthful living.

The AMA Youth Run Club ended the 2016-17 season with some impressive statistics: a record 27,000 students running with clubs in 455 schools, in 154 Alberta communities.