Leaving the pandemic behind: Bernie’s Track Walk participants gathered for 11th annual event

“When you’re in care at BC Children’s Hospital, all those families were on their tippy toes trying not to get COVID, so hosting a big gathering just wasn’t going to happen,” Ryan emphasized of the hiatus.

The track walk is open to everybody, and the former racer explained that the only parts that are reserved specifically for Starlight Children’s Foundation and BC Children’s Hospital are lunch, the t-shirts, and prizes.

“This is not a fundraiser at all,” Ryan explained. “Every year we find somebody to buy lunch for the kids and their families. So, I sponsored it one year, my company sponsored it one year, and friends of mine have sponsored it.”

He expanded that Starlight Children’s Foundation was going to fund the event this year, but an organization stepped in to raise funds in support of the day.

“Burnaby Kawasaki did a bike wash a week ago and raised a thousand dollars, so they said use that,” he said. “It’s a day where they get to be just normal kids and have some fun and forget about the crap that they’re going through.”

Ryan said racers now come to the track walk to meet with the children and their families.

“What we do is, there’s a safe spot on the track where you can pull off to the side,” he explained. “They come out and they do some demonstration laps. The kids love it. It’s kind of neat because now you’re 20 feet away from the bike, and it’s super cool.”

When asked to sum up the purpose of the event, Ryan said it’s a day where kids get to be kids—period.

“It’s a respite—the track walk is interesting, the flybys are supercool, they wolf down some pizza, they watch a few races, and they take off,” he said.

Image supplied by Bernie Ryan / Sunday, Sept. 4 / 11th Bernie’s Annual Track Walk at the Mission Raceway Park.

by Laurice Gomes

Leaving the pandemic behind: Bernie’s Track Walk participants gathered for 11th annual event

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