When a friend tells you they are planning to organize a local charity race, we spring into action and try our best to offer time and effort to help them succeed. This certainly was our experience for the Schomberg Firefighters Association 5km on October 25th, for both Zachary and I.
Course: Located at the Cold Creek Conservation area, in Nobleton, this is a trail course which combines double wide and single-track sections, looping throughout the park. It is a beautiful mix of old growth and renewed sections of forest, with the staging area in a clearing with parking and other park amenities. There was a Halloween event that took place on the Friday night (race was Sunday) which had decorated a section of the trail with a mix of frightful displays such as the “trail of 1000 eyes”, a tent section with skeletons, some hanging cloth and plastic obstacles and various horror props on the trailside. While certainly entertaining and on-theme with the time of year, it was a bit of a challenge to run through the hanging gauntlet of cloth and bags at pace. The route was well marked with pink and orange flags, pylons and signs where needed.
On-course Support: There was one aid station close to the midway point for runners on the day, though I just rushed past waving and thanking the volunteers for their time. Additionally, there were a few marshals sprinkled in at a few sections, including the out-and-back Halloween jog, to keep you going the correct direction.
Surface: Some gravel, hard packed dirt, some exposed roots and rocks as well as grassy sections. There was some dew on the ground at the staging area, however the trail itself was dry and sections with roots and rocks were cleared of fallen leaves.
Weather: The morning started quite foggy, which made the drive somewhat harrowing (we saw some drivers completely miss stops signs on the way there), however once in the park, the haze dissipated in the hour before the race. The weather was cool however the sun was out and it was a beautiful fall morning, sitting around 9° when the race started.
Atmosphere: A small, community charity race for the local fire department, meant a lot of Schomberg and King fire friends and family were in attendance, plus a good turn out from my local run club from Alliston. The total attendance was split between runners and the walking group but everyone was in great spirits and enjoying the sunny fall day.
Post-race: Water, bananas, apples, and a gift bag with additional snacks and swag were available after the finish line, with additional hydration, protein and electrolytes at the Thrive Protein tent and massage and physio services from Renewal Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic near the pavilion.
Race start
Overall: I ran the course with the Race Director Selene Mallone on Friday, to get an extra set of eyes on the route, help plan out marking points and anything that needed to be addressed before the race. Zachary and I followed this up on Saturday, helping to mark and clear sections of the course, to ensure no one would deviate from the intended trail. Both were gorgeous days in the woods and fantastic fall weather.
Lining up the for the race, it was a rematch of the podium from the previous weekend in Alliston for the New Tecumseth Memorial 5km, with Zachary, Michael Prates and myself (1, 2 & 3 last weekend) but also with another friend, Ken Ford, who is even faster than the 3 of us, at the front of the line. Sure enough, Ken set the pace out of the gate and we all chased and struggled to keep up.
With that ridiculous start (2:45/km pace during the first 400m) before dipping into the wooded section, I knew fairly quickly that this was not my day of retribution 😂
Zachary held strong through most of the race, trying to keep Ken in sight but ultimately lost about a minute to Ken, with Michael staying right on Zachary’s heels for most of the race, echoing the finish from the week prior. I came up fourth, losing sight of the chase duo in the last kilometer, before entering the out-and-back section.
Zachary finishing strong
All I could do was laugh, as I realized that dragging the wagon loaded with signs, frames, pylons, flags, etc., over the 5km course, up and down the hills and over roots and rocks likely burned me out more than I had considered. I even had Selene shout “wagon-legs” to me as I crossed the finish line 😝
Where I had enough in the tank to finish hard the week prior, and run my fastest split in the final kilometer, today was not my day. I shook it off and enjoyed the run through the trails, managing to keep ahead of the runners behind me and still finished just behind the leaders.
I was trying to slap my heel before Selene pushed an “Easy” button in front of me 😝
Zachary: 21:10 | 2/50 | 2ND OVERALL
Patrick: 23:30 | 4/50 | 1st place age group
Zachary had an amazing week leading up to this, taking the overall win the week prior in Alliston, following it with his public school XC championship win (grade 7) for Simcoe-Muskoka at Mount St. Louis and now securing another 2nd place podium finish in this race. He’s truly started to find his speed and I can’t be happier for it!
This race raised just over $1,000 for the Schomberg Firefighters Association and was a great fall day with friends in the woods. After our finish, we cheered on all the other competitors while having some laughs with other friends who were in attendance but weren’t racing.
After the kids race on the field concluded, we grabbed the wagon again with a larger group of friends and family, and set off to tear down the course markers, clear the trail and ensure that we didn’t leave any lasting traces of the event in the woods, as the hikers and frisbee golf groups were already coming out to enjoy one of surely the last beautiful fall days of 2026.
Thank you to all the other volunteers, sponsors and also Matthew Freeborough for the pictures!
Post-race protein shots!
