News & Events

Elmwood Grade 11 Gym class gets racy

Wednesday June 02

The girls in Elmwood's Grade 11 Gym class know a thing or two about challenges. So when Athletic Director and Phys-ed teacher Brenda Neale proposed the entire class participate in the Ottawa Race Weekend for a summative project, the girls ran with it—literally.

With personal challenge as the project's overarching theme, students chose to run either the 5K or 10K race, based on fitness and confidence levels. Preparation was not a walk in the park—each girl kept a six week training log, improved her running technique, ran practice races, set goals and submitted prediction times.

Then they raced.

Neale, who trained and ran alongside her students, knows the project has brought the close-knit group even closer—fostering a sense of camaraderie through an authentic, shared journey. Commenting on their post-race reflections, she states:

"The girls really enjoyed the whole race experience. From training together, picking up their race kits, having our pasta lunch, hearing the crowd cheer us on—they're inspired to run again next year."

Elmwood Ottawa Race Weekend warriors