Nearly 1,600 people took part in the 42nd annual Brantford Rotary Classic Run on Sunday, June 7, 2026.
Alison Huzul, event chair, said she was thrilled with this year’s turnout.
“We’ve been really trying to revitalize what we had before COVID, so we’ve been trying to get more participants and more sponsorships, and I’m happy to say that we have a couple hundred more people than we did last year,” she said. “We have about three times as many teams than we’ve had in the past, and we just couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather.”
Huzul went on to say that thanks to the roughly 60 Rotary Club of Brantford members and the participants, this year’s big event will likely be the most successful as far as fundraising goes.
“We had all our Rotary members go out to the community, and we got so much sponsorship that this will likely be the most profitable run we’ve ever done, and we’re probably going to reach our goal of about $180,000,” she said with a smile. “This event is such a big undertaking, and every single member really stepped up in one way or another through their volunteer work. We had about ten-times more sponsorship this year which is just incredible. We really appeal to the community; everybody knows that all of the money goes to Lansdowne Children’s Centre and BGC Brantford [formerly the Boys and Girls Club], as well as some other children’s charities, so we’re really lucky to have everyone get involved in the cause.”
After gathering on the grounds of the W. Ross Macdonald School, participants headed over to the corner of St. Paul and Dufferin Avenue before taking off on the ten and five-kilometre runs, and the three-mile walk.
Having crossed the finish line and accepted their medals, many runners stuck around to rest up, get a post-run stretch from CBI Health, socialize or to grab a bite to eat.
Runners Kaitlyn Overeem, Alaina McMillan, Lauren Overeem and Carter Robdrup, who all participated in the five-kilometre run, said they had a great time.
“The weather was really nice with that breeze, everything was mapped out really nicely so we didn’t get lost which is great too,” said Kaitlyn. “There were also people at each corner giving out water and cheering you on with some really cute signs too so that was awesome.”
While the Overeem sisters said they’ve run the event multiple times in the past, McMillan said it was her first time.
“I work for BGC Banbury so we fundraised for the event and I was running as part of the team,” she said.
Kaitlyn went on to say that she and her sister were both part of BGC Brantford as children, and like to give back to the cause.
“When we were younger it was a really big thing for us to participate in the run, especially knowing where the proceeds go,” she said. “We really loved that, and so we just kept going back every year. We did take a little bit of a break, but we had a couple people say that they wanted to run this year so we said, ‘let’s do it.’”
“With no training, by the way,” added Lauren, with a laugh. “We literally signed up last week.”
Despite being a bit tired from the run, the four were all smiles.
Huzul said that while the run might be over, people can still donate to the cause by visiting rotaryclassic.ca
“The donation page is still open so we encourage people to still donate if they can, especially to our first responders who put in teams and brought their vehicles, we really appreciate that,” she said.
Huzul also added that she just couldn’t thank everyone enough for getting involved.
“I was at the registration desk and just thanking everyone, the people who did it individually and everyone who put in big teams too,” she said. “I also have to thank Braemar House School, they raised thousands of dollars and will win the school award this year.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
