Get Ready for Jump Up at the Toronto Carnival Run

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

Toronto Carnival Run is in its 4^th year now, and this year’s event promises a lot in the fitness lifestyle department for all members of the family. Whether you’re a beginner or not, Toronto Carnival Run welcomes all ages and fitness levels to improve their physical and mental health. One way you can do this is by running while raising money for The Simunye Foundation, whose goal is to build an African-Caribbean Cultural Centre.

The Toronto Carnival Run takes place on Saturday, July 27^th, 2019, from 8 am- 11 am. It will begin at Sir Casimir Gzowski Park and will travel along the Martin Goodman Trail; it conveniently happens one week before North America’s largest cultural parade, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly known as Caribana). It is an open invitation to get your body good and ready for jump up. Distance options are 5K Walk /Run, 10K Walk /Run and 1 K Kids Race. Entry fee includes: Race T-Shirt, Race Bib (Chip Timed), Finisher’s Medal, Free Race photography, and a Post-Race Caribbean Inspired Breakfast.

The Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with the woman behind the Toronto Carnival Run. Fitness, lifestyle coach, and personal trainer Dione Mason told us how important it is to look after your health. Mason has observed that health and fitness is not focused on in the Caribbean community, and this, Mason explains, affects their quality of life and their ability to prosper financially as well. “It became one of my motivations for starting the Carnival Run. If you look at most other runs, you will see about 95% Caucasian and a low representation from the black communities, as opposed to the Carnival Run which has about 10% from the African and Caribbean community. That’s why I am trying as hard as possible to see more balance and to get more inclusion in this.”

When asked what she thinks accounts for the low numbers found when examining health and fitness in the black community Mason said, “We can’t ignore the elephant in the room; our past of slavery, segregation and the Jim Crow era has caused many of us in the past and even in the present to not be able to focus on our physical health because we were just basically trying to survive. We just don’t think about our physical health as a priority.”

Mason believes that another reason could be a lack of knowledge. “Sometimes in some of our communities, we don’t really focus on the reasons why it’s important to be active; people sometimes try to lose weight for an occasion, I don’t see a lot of people in our community who consider physical activity as a part of life. I want to focus on how we can change this outlook and be healthier by keeping our body moving.”

Mason who has taught fitness classes in: Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, said the event is a friendly, warm family event and she encourages everyone to come out and try their best. “Whether you are a novice or an expert; whether you walk or run, you are welcome. We definitely want to encourage people to be healthy, but another one of our goals is to raise funds so that we can: build a cultural center, preserve our legacy, and celebrate the culture of our African and Caribbean people. As of now, we don’t have anything like that in Ontario.”

For more information on Toronto Carnival Run go online http://www.torontocarnivalrun.com/