The first Sarah Beckett Memorial Run takes place in Langford on April 13 and registration for the run is ongoing.
The run honours of Const. Sarah Beckett, a West Shore RCMP officer killed in the line of duty in April, 2016.
Proceeds from the run go towards the Const. Sarah Beckett Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by the CRD Traffic Safety Commission. The scholarship, now in its third year, is awarded to a post-secondary student based on their academic achievement, financial need, community service record and an interest in pursuing a career in law enforcement.
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“I thought about trying to keep her legacy alive and to be able to touch other people’s lives through that and when I found out about the scholarship through the CRD that’s the only thing I could focus on is trying to get more people into law enforcement,” said Brad Aschenbrenner, Beckett’s widower. “That’s why this run was created.”
Aschenbrenner said there is room for 800 participants in the run and so far, there are over 600 registrants. Those interested in participating can sign up at sarahbeckettmemorialrun.com until April 12.
“The more people the better,” Aschenbrenner said.
The cost of registration is $55 and includes a medal and participant insurance. Aschenbrenner said t-shirts will also be available for registrants, but may run out.
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The run is family friendly and participants can walk the five kilometers as well. It will start at Belmont Secondary School at 10 a.m. but participants can show up starting at 8 a.m. to collect their race day package. The event will wrap up around 1 p.m.
There is also an option for people living outside of Victoria to join a virtual run. They will be able to register for $40 and complete the run wherever they live. All that is asked of virtual run participants is for them to snap a photo once they’ve completed it and share it to the Sarah Beckett Memorial Run Facebook page with the hashtag RunForBeckett.
Aschenbrenner said he is hoping the scholarship can grow from the run’s proceeds and that maybe more than one scholarship can be given out as well.
”We just want to create something positive out of something so negative,” Aschenbrenner said.
shalu.mehta@goldstreamgazette.com