Sprinting over the finish line

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/01/2015 (4203 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shirley Lumb has crossed the finish line after a 30-year run with the Manitoba Marathon.

Lumb, 66, has officially retired as executive director. Her last day was Tuesday.

“This past year was my 30th year, and I just thought 30 years had a good sound, and it was time to move on and let someone else steer the ship for a while,” said Lumb, who held the post for the past 20 years after filling a part-time position in 1984.

“I’m excited about it, but it’s going to be really hard because it’s been a big part of my working life for 30 years. I feel like it’s my baby, and I’m cutting it loose. But I think I’m ready.”

Held annually on Father’s Day since it began in 1979, the Manitoba Marathon has long been billed as “a celebration of fitness, family and fundraising.” Funds raised are administered by the Manitoba Marathon Foundation, which gives grants to projects that assist Manitobans living with intellectual challenges.

After its beginning as just the 26.2-mile full marathon, under Lumb’s watch it has evolved into a spectacle with six events and prides itself on having a run for everyone.

“One of the big things that will stay with me is every time I’m invited to visit the home of someone we’ve supported and see how happy they are to be in their homes. That’s really special,” Lumb said.

“The work of our charity (Manitoba Marathon Foundation) goes hand-in-hand with making enough money to help support people so they can come out of institutions or projects that are inclusive in the community.”

Lumb reflected on some of the changes the Manitoba Marathon has undergone in the past three decades, which has included computerized registration, electronic chips for participants to mark their progress on the course, the use of social media and the addition of the Fit Expo event.

Participation in marathon events has exploded in the past seven years, eclipsing the 13,000 mark six times since the 30th running in 2008. In 2009, a record 13,910 people participated in the Manitoba Marathon.

‘I just thought 30 years had a good sound, and it was time to move on and let someone else steer the ship’

“When I started, I wrote all the entrants’ names in a book and then I hand-typed all the finishers’ certificates,” Lumb said laughing.

These days, with such high participation numbers, finishers’ certificates and bib numbers are emailed to participants who print them out themselves.

“I’m really, truly proud that after all these years, we have over 12,000 participants, and we’re in a location where our draw isn’t the same as maybe Vancouver or Toronto or New York but we do so well. Credit to our community. Our community is what really keeps us going.”

A kindergarten teacher for 10 years in The Pas prior to moving to Winnipeg, Lumb became the 1/2 in the Manitoba Marathon’s staff of 11/2 people in 1984 as a part-time assistant to former race director Allan Finkel. She needed summers off to be with her children who were young and in school back then. Now her daughter, Jennifer, and son, T.J., are grown with children of their own, so Lumb plans to get busy with some serious grandma work with Makenna, 6, and Hayden, 2.

She’ll make the transition away from the marathon by volunteering with other organizations, but will take some time with her special memories.

“The finish line and the very last person coming in always tugged at my heart, that fact that we’ve raised so much money and been able to help so many people who really need our help,” Lumb said. Since 1979, the Manitoba Marathon has raised more than $5 million and helped fund more than 500 projects across Manitoba to assist people living with intellectual challenges.

“I’m thankful for that and for all of the people that I’ve met, participants, staff, volunteers, sponsors, just a plethoria of people who have enriched my life.”

Registration opens Monday for the 37th Manitoba Marathon, slated for Sunday, June 21.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca