10K Dream Team Challenge a win-win-win for charities, athletes and spectators

This year, there were more than just elite runners vying for a first place finish at the Ottawa 10K on Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.

Four Scotiabank Charity Challenge charities and the general public were invited to participate in the inaugural 10K Dream Team Challenge, a contest to win prizes by drafting Ottawa 10K elite runners onto teams of four. The fastest team could win money for the charity and for its runners.  

Camp Misquah, a not-for-profit based in Gracefield, Quebec, which organizes camp programs for people with developmental disabilities, won the Challenge and $3,000 for the organization.

The charity had placed its bets on Ethiopia’s Andamlak Belihu Berta and three female athletes from Kenya: Edith Chelimo, Gladys Kimaina, and Angela Tanui. The team came in fastest in the Ottawa 10K and won $2,000 to be split among team members.

The three other charities in the inaugural 10K Dream Team Challenge were the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, which won second place and $1,500; the Canadian Cancer Society, which came third, winning $500; and the Make-A-Wish Eastern Ontario Canada. The charities were selected based on their 2017 fundraising results along with one random draw.

Berta was a racer to watch and did not disappoint. The 19-year-old’s Canadian racing debut saw him drafted first in the 10K Dream Team Challenge and win the Ottawa 10K with a time of 27:47.27. He won $10,000 for placing first and another $4,000 for being first draft pick in the 10K Dream Team Challenge. Every one of the 16 athletes won cash prizes from a $60,000 purse.

The 10K Dream Team Challenge was also open to the public, allowing anyone to choose their own Dream Team from the charity teams. First place winner was 12-year-old Megan Plamondon, who won a prize of $250. Rob Allen won a pair of Zizu sunglasses for his second place team, and Mark Wigmore won a Timex watch for third.