For the second year in a row, Gull Lake Centre has had great success with its Adventure Race fundraiser.
On Oct. 5, lovers of adventure converged on Gull Lake to participate in the second annual Gull Lake Centre Adventure Race.
Steve Roadhouse, executive director for Gull Lake Centre, said the race, which supports youth leadership programs offered by the camp, is a great cause to support.
“Well, youth are the future, right? I think if we can train up some young people, it will be a magnified effect as they go out into the world.”
The purpose of the race is twofold, said Roadhouse. First, it is to raise funds for the camp’s Leadership Training and Discipleship (LTD) Program, the camp’s high school leadership program.
Roadhouse said the program costs $90,000 each year to run and the race aims to recover a third of that cost.
Of course, the second objective is just to have fun. Roadhouse said it is a great way for people who are over 18 and done being campers to still be involved in the camp.
Racer Gregg Lockhart of Lacombe is one such individual. He participated in the adventure race for his first time this year and worked at the camp 10 years ago. He added that he saw Gull Lake Centre and its LTD program as noble causes to support.
“I just believe in what they do for young kids,” said Lockhart.
He went on to say that, for him, the camp and its LTD program provided him with lifelong friends and enriched his life. In fact, Lockhart said he even met his wife while working at the camp.
This year’s event saw 10 teams of four take part in the race. Each team raised a minimum of $1,000 to take part in the race, said Roadhouse.
He added that two of the teams participating this year raised over $4,000 each.
Last year’s adventure race was held at the end of October and racers had to deal with the added difficultly of snow during the race, said Roadhouse. This year, the race was moved to the beginning of the month to prevent that and Roadhouse said things went much more smoothly.
The race was split into three phases and saw racers participate in such activities as canoeing, cycling, orienteering and head-to-head challenges like navigating a blind obstacle course and a wheelbarrow race.
Roadhouse said the race is somewhat challenging, but not overly so.
He added it requires some stamina and endurance, but no more than running 5 km.
“If you are a weekend athlete, you will be just fine,” said Roadhouse.
During the race, Lockhart joked about not being in good enough shape to keep up with his much younger teammates and said he expected his team to come in dead last, but added he was enjoying the race all the same. He also said that there was much camaraderie within the team and even between teams.
“Like I said, there are lifelong friends here,” said Lockhart. “When you see people it’s like a reunion almost.”
Having an adventure race as a fundraiser for the LTD program is a good fit for the camp, said Roadhouse.
“It kind of personifies camp. It’s adventure, it’s supporting others, it’s having a lot of fun.”