By: Pat Buchik
Edited by H.Piel
Event Name: Fall Colours Run – 1K Wedding Dress Dash & 10K Event
Date: Oct 13, 2024
Location: Cumberland Heritage Museum, 2940 Old Montreal Rd, Cumberland, Ontario.
Synopsis: As the name implies, it was a very scenic run with the leaves turning colour. It is a smaller race with many options for everyone, including a Turkey Trot for the under 12 year olds and the very fun Wedding Dress Dash.
Briefly describe the overall venue & course:
The venue was the Cumberland Heritage Museum site which is a collection of heritage buildings interpreting the 1920s – 1930s era. For this event, a Somersault event, various stations were set up in the center of the museum grounds for bib pick-up, bag drop-off, and post-race snacks, as well as the start and finish lines and port-a-potties.
The Wedding Dress Dash took place all within the grounds of the Cumberland Heritage Museum along a packed gravel roadway.
The 10km course started on the museum grounds and then weaved its way along Old Montreal Road and through residential neighbourhoods. Most of the course was on asphalt pavement.
What was provided at the aid stations?
There were 3 aid stations along the 10km route. I didn’t stop for water and assume they had both water and electrolytes since they also had the same at the finish line. I did not see any port-a-potties along the 10km route even though I expected to see at least one along the route. There may have been some further along the route for the half marathon/marathon route.
No aid stations were required for the 1K Wedding Dress Dash.
How was the weather? :
It was a cool, fall day, around 5 degrees C at 7:30 in the morning, with intermittent clouds. Given that it was supposed to rain that morning, the actual weather was a relief. There was a slight, cool wind. I did get cold just standing around waiting for the race to start. Just before the 10km event, I debated on putting on another layer but I am glad in the end that I did not as I warmed up enough once I started to run. However, I could have used a throwaway shirt to keep me warm prior to the start of each race.
My Race Experience:
To be honest, the motivation to do this race was the Wedding Dress Dash. I figured since I was there anyway I would do one of the other distances and chose the 10km. Other options included 3km, 5km, half marathon, and marathon, along with the Turkey Trot for kids and the Wedding Dress Dash.
The Cumberland Heritage Museum is a 20-25 minute drive from central Ottawa. It is east of Orleans and I am not sure if you can get there on public transit.
I was picked up at 7:20 a.m. in Westboro and we got there with about 50 minutes to spare once we found parking. Parking was in a field west of the site and I know that late arrivers had problems getting parking in the field and ended up parking on Old Montreal Road and other roads around the site.
My friends had to pick up their race bibs before the race and everything was set up for them to do so in a timely fashion. I took a backpack with me since it was a bit of a hike from the parking lot to the start line and I needed to change between the two races. I wore some of my running gear under the wedding dress but still needed to add a few things such as my arm sleeves after the first event. I checked my backpack into the bag check and let them know to keep my bag at the front as I would need it between races. In fact I went back several times to get things out of my backpack and they were very accommodating.
The Wedding Dress Dash: The 1 km Wedding Dress Dash started at 8:45 a.m. at the start line set up within the grounds of the museum. It was a mass start with 18 people participating; 4 of us from Run K2J. The biggest challenge for me was keeping the skirt of my dress hiked up enough so that I could run without tripping on the train.
I was surprised at how fast everyone took off; it was indeed a “dash” to the finish. The chill that I felt before the race quickly disappeared as I made my way around the flat course.
It was one of the more fun running events that I’ve participated in, seeing everyone in wedding attire and watching the spectators enjoying the humour of it all.
The 10km Event: After the Wedding Dress Dash, I had about ½ hour to transform from a potential runaway bride to a runner. I got in a long line for the portapotties before the event, however the line went quickly and I had plenty of time to get to the start. The start was a mass start within the grounds of the museum and it started on time at 9:30 a.m. We were soon out of the museum grounds and onto Old Montreal Road going east. I had heard that the route was quite hilly with a big hill soon after the start but was relieved to see that it was a downhill. However, I made a note to self that on the way back, there would be a fairly long, uphill close to the finish.
After the downhill we took a sharp right turn and entered into a residential neighbourhood. There were a few people in their front yards cheering us on however it was spotty and certainly not like some of the larger races we are used to.
About 2.5 km into the route there was a long, steep uphill (darn, they were right about the hills). Some runners chose to walk part or all of it. I tried to focus on the runner in front of me who seemed determined to run the hill. I did slow down, taking shorter steps but did make it up without stopping or walking.
The route continued in the residential neighbourhood where the road had many curves so I took the tangents as much as possible. As I was approaching the 10km turnaround, the lead runners were passing us on the opposite side of the road on their way back to the finish. It gave me a boost to see Yvonne and Mike on their return, making good time. There was no race official at the turnaround, just the sign that indicated it was where we needed to turn.
On the way back I also spotted Robin in her K2J jacket….our clothing really stands out which is great.
I did slow down slightly during the second half and stopped for about 30 seconds to take some water from my own water bottle. The big push came in the last km with the big uphill just before the finish. At the bottom of the hill there were a number of people who were very encouraging in terms of tackling the “last” hill. I did appreciate that.
Shortly after the hill, it was back into the grounds of the Cumberland Heritage Museum. I received another much needed boost when I saw Judy with her cheer signs and boom box to get us to the finish. The finish included a loop around the interior road of the museum, past the start line inflatable and about another 400m before crossing the finish line. I was grateful to see some friendly K2J finishers cheering from the sidelines.
There was some confusion about the finisher medals. I had forgotten if I had purchased a medal and since I had a green dot on my bib I thought it meant that I had a green bib. In fact, the green dot meant you bought a medal and a red dot meant the you did not. They also ran out of medals, however, Somersault sent out an email after the race and are going to get medals to those that want them.
I was satisfied with the post-race snacks but they did run short of chicken broth and didn’t have their signature pickles at the finish. Likely it wasn’t hot enough for the need for pickles.
Somersault did have podium prizes for the top 3 male, female and non-binary finishers in each event. Yvonne Mery from our group took the third place spot in the top female finishers in the 10km. They also acknowledged the top 3 finishers in each age group. See race results.
Would you do this event again?
Yes, I would do this event again. I like the fact that it is a smaller race with a more relaxed and fun atmosphere than some of the big races I participate in. I am not sure if the Thanksgiving weekend had anything to do with it, but there were a lot of families out there either participating or cheering which made for a very positive experience.
The Wedding Dress Dash was a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it. In the future, I may try a distance other than the 10km just for a different experience.
Would you recommend this event?
Yes, I would recommend this event. It was a great way to spend part of the Thanksgiving weekend…..a lot of gratitude comes up for me. Grateful that we have a great running community in Ottawa and grateful to the Run K2J group for the support and opportunities to have fun.
The family atmosphere, the size of the race and the time of year also added to my support of this event.
Closing thoughts. Any hints for others planning to do this race? Where to stay? Things to bring? What to wear?
The marathon distance of this race is also a Boston Qualifier.
Overall Venue Rating: :
4 – Great
Please rate the course:
4 – Great
Please rate the aid stations:
2 – Okay
Run K2J 