Elvia Compoverde, 25, was the first woman to finish the run.
photo by elizabeth zahur
Life Reporter
Humber student Charlie Lay placed tenth out of about 500 people in the fourth annual five kilometre run, organized by students in the fitness and health promotion program.
“I did it because I’m trying to make the cross-country team next year,” said the first-year architectural technology student. “Right now I can only run with the girls. I can run fast but I have to work on my stamina.”
Lay’s training involves working out every day and running up and down hills in the arboretum. He used the event to gauge how his training was progressing.
Humber students and members of the community walked, jogged or ran along a stretch of the Humber River.
Prizes, such as gift certificates to Humber’s bookstore, the Humber Room, and the Running Room, were given out to the first three men and first three women to finish.
Sami Jibril, 19, from Seneca, was hardly out of breath when he came in first at a time of 16:37. The first woman to complete the run was 25-year-old Elvia Campoverde, who heard about the run from a Humber student, who came in at 21:02.
This event marks one of the first of a number of runs, marathons, and rides to take place in Toronto in the upcoming months. The 200-kilometre Ride to Conquer Cancer from Toronto to Niagara Falls takes place in June and the Toronto Marathon is in October.
Matt Koller, assistant co-ordinator of the health and fitness promotion program, said a relatively healthy person should start preparing two or three months in advance for a five kilometre run. A marathon would require four to six months.
“Start three days a week and start slow and build yourself up gradually,” he said. “And if you’re not sure, ask your doctor or talk to a fitness professional.”
Ed Mark from the Running Room, a sponsor of the event, recommended a “run/walk program” to train: walk for a few minutes, then run for a minute, gradually increasing run time until the entire distance can be completed running.
Mark also stressed the importance of knowing when you’ve pushed yourself too far.
“Aches and pains are part of the process, but you don’t want bad pains,” he said. “If it’s affecting your everyday life, if you’re limping, that’s bad.”