Canada Day 5K raises $23,870 for three area organizations

Runners leave from the starting line during the Canada Day 5K Run, Walk & Wheel held in Amherstburg July 1. Over 1,000 participants took part, when the kids' dash and the main race were combined.

Runners, walkers and those in wheelchairs hit the streets of Amherstburg on Canada Day and helped raise money for three local organizations in the process.

Approximately 1,030 people signed up for the Canada Day 5K Run, Walk and Wheel between the main race and the kids’ dash, said event co-organizer Molly Allaire.

There was also a charitable component to the race, as proceeds will be divided between Amherstburg Community Services (ACS), the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission and the Bryerswood Youth Camp Optimist Club.

When proceeds were counted, the 5K raised $23,870.

Allaire and her husband Dan teamed with Walkers and Runners Around the County of Essex (WRACE) to present the race again this year. She was pleased with how everything went overall.

“It was busy but so well organized thanks to the volunteers who came out,” said Allaire. “I had over 50 volunteers step up.”

River Town Times co-owner/sales representative Laura D'Alessandro was one of the participants that did the 5K walk Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Participants in the race came not just from Amherstburg and the Windsor-Essex County area, but Allaire said they came from across Canada and the United States as well. There was even a participant from England, she said.

“That was kind of cool,” she said.

Several came from the Toronto-area, Allaire added.

“I thought that was wild because there were races in Toronto,” she said.

Canadian pride was one of the reasons Allaire believed the event was a success again this year.

Luke and Samantha Ferguson head to the finish line.

“Amherstburg does it right,” said Allaire, who is also a town councillor. “It’s the kickoff to our whole Canada Day celebration.”

Allaire called it “magic” to see everyone decked out in red and white and that the race and the day full of Canada Day events that followed brought everyone together. Following the race, there were events and activities in Toddy Jones Park, King’s Navy Yard Park, the downtown core and Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada. As is tradition, the day was capped with fireworks over the Detroit River.

“We’re going to keep this (race) alive. I know it’s going to get bigger and better,” said Allaire.

By Ron Giofu