Jimmy Kilabuk Fun Run/Walk to traverse the tundra
Starting line moves from Iqaluit streets to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park
Chileab Yue, fitness instructor at the Iqaluit Aquatic Centre, competes in the 2025 Jimmy Kilabuk Fun Run/Walk. This year’s race is scheduled to start rain or shine at 10 a.m. at Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park Pavilion on June 20. (Photo courtesy of Cat Bobiash)
Change is afoot for the City of Iqaluit’s Jimmy Kilabuk Fun Run/Walk with the route traversing Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park instead of the streets of Iqaluit.
The event is scheduled to begin June 20 at 10 a.m. and will take place on park trails. It includes competitive five-kilometre and three-kilometre routes, as well as a just-for-fun one-mile race for parents with children.
The City of Iqaluit honours the late, former Iqaluit mayor Jimmy Kilabuk with the latest edition of a fun run that bears his name. (File photo)
“For people who love getting moving but just need a little extra push — it’s the first time it has been in the park and the park is gorgeous,” said organizer Cat Bobiash, fitness and wellness co-ordinator with the city-run Iqaluit Aquatic Centre.
“The weather is supposed to be gorgeous that day, too.”
Runners will compete for one of two Canadian North flights to Ottawa.
Chileab Yue, a fitness instructor at the centre, competed in the first Jimmy Kilabuk race in 2019. Only about nine racers took part, he said.
“Last year there were more than 50,” he said.
In the early years of the race, Yue would often finish in the top three. In recent years, he is lucky to break into the top 10, he said.
“That’s how advanced Iqaluit runners have become,” he said.
The event includes a free barbecue with grilled Arctic char, hot dogs and hamburgers. Providing music will be Greenlandic singer/songwriter Naja P, backed by fellow Greenlander Jaaku Soerensen on guitar. Igloolik musician Terry Uyarak will follow.
There is a $25 registration fee for the races.
The money raised will support the city’s Jimmy Kilabuk Children’s Recreation Fund, established in 2017 to support Inuit children and families on income assistance to participate in programs at the aquatic centre.
Kilabuk, a former firefighter and prison guard, served as Iqaluit mayor from 1997 to 2000. He died in 2013, early into his third consecutive term on city council.
Known as “The Flash” for his success in the annual Toonik Tyme snowmobile races, he was an avid outdoorsperson who promoted physical fitness for youth, Bobiash said.
“He believed everyone should have access to recreation activities, regardless of their economic backgrounds,” she said.
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