The History of the Mount Albert 5k Run/Walk
The annual Mount Albert Sports Day 5k Run/Walk is held on the first Saturday in June. The race route and passes through the residential and business sections of Mount Albert into the slightly rolling countryside. It encourages racers of all ages and abilities. The race is fun and family-focused.
2002
Michal Fairburn had the children of Mount Albert run through parts of the town, on the streets and through the trails.
This was held on the Saturday morning of Sports Day Weekend.
The race went so well and so enjoyed by the kids and their parents that Michal got a committee together the next year. The Mount Albert Sports Day 5k Run was born!
2003
The race started out going west along King Street and ended on a brief downhill after rounding past the TD Bank, onto Main Street.
2004
The race was taken over by Jen and Ray Mark. The race changed direction to accommodate the businesses along Centre Street, which are open on Saturday mornings. The race continued to grow over the next few years.
2005
The race acknowledged the many walkers taking part, adding a walking category (for the top 3 walkers).
The race records were set by Mario Iozzo (15:28) in 2006 and Sarah Nagy (17:57) in 2007.
2008
A team category was added and had instant success.
2009
Lee Sitarz took over as race director, and continued to keep the race alive.
2010
Elizabeth and Ray Gillis became the race directors, and turned the race into a business – allowing for growth and excitement in the future.
2011
Elizabeth was joined by Jen Mark again - 281 participants - a record! And our first thunderstorm mid-race.
2012
Success in our 10th anniversary! Great food and tons of draw prizes! Rained hard, but no one was deterred.
2013
Technical t-shirts make their debut as well as full chip timing! We also had shattered our previous entry record, registering an astounding 331 participants!
2014
Robin Campbell and Elizabeth Gillis sign on as co-directors for the 12th year! New this year: finishers medals for all 327 participants!
The Mount Albert 5k back in 2005: since then the race has grown in numbers — plus we now have timing bibs, a gantry, race t-shirts and more!
2015
A new participant record - 374 registrants in 2015! We have a new female record holder - Tamara Jewett with a time of 16:32.6. Mario Iozzo - 15:28 (2006) still holds the male record. Congratulations to the overall winner and 1st male, Keaton Smee with a time of 15:57.8.
2016
Another participant record broken - 416 registrants in 2016! Kathleen Miller and Kim Mortson sign on as co-directors. The committee has new and veteran volunteers, all eager to continue the tradition of organizing a fun event in support of the Mount Albert Community.
2017
Another beautiful day for the run and over 400 participants for the 16th anniversary of the run / walk.
2018
Lots of teams and family teams, and fun had by all at the 2018 run.
2019
A rainy weekend for sports day but the weather was beautiful for the run. Another fun family event in the books.
2020, 2021
A global pandemic forced the closure of the race in order keep our community safe.
2022
After a two-year hiatus, we welcomed over 325 participants. The weather was cool but sunny (oh, how the wind was strong)!
2023
The weather was perfect for the 20th race! Thank you to all our participants for supporting the event.
2024
A wonderful turnout and great weather again! 342 racers supported the event from far and wide. We even had a runner visiting from Atlanta, GA!
2025
351 racers participated on a sunny and warm morning. The course record came close to being broken - only 6 seconds over!
