News Special: Canadians put on 10K in Haiti

Race director Nick Capra, co-owner of Running Free in Markham, Ont., describes the chaos and joy at the Marathon de la Soliarité 10K Road Race in Cap Haitian, Haiti

It was race day. At 5:30 a.m. on January 10, I waited anxiously, along with several others from our Canadian contingent, for our escort and interpreter to drive us to meet with the volunteers for what would be Cap Haitian’s first ever road race. I kept thinking, “Hey, this is Haitian time,” but anxiety was building. Finally, we decided to walk to the meeting place ourselves. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw the 40 or 50 volunteers waiting for us at the meeting area, but the roads in Cap are tight and we still needed 160 volunteers to cover every intersection along the route. We began patiently assigning duties, and the next time I looked up, I noticed the zig-zag lineup getting longer and longer. Apparently, word got out that if you volunteered you would get a T-shirt, a hat and food. I left the volunteer area in the hands of Esther Paul, owner of the Runners Den in Hamilton and a principal player and organizer of race. Later, I found out that more than 200 people showed up to volunteer.

At the start/finish area, I began setting things up, when I heard a voice behind me. “Registration?” a man said in a thick Spanish accent. It was the head of the Chilean UN forces, along with 10 other men and one woman, dressed to run. Leanne and Jane, my trusty registration duo, began registering runners, but our laptop seemed to be on Haitian time too, and crashed after 15 minutes. As I looked across the crowd, I noticed some of them were wearing flip-flops or just socks. After the race, we planned to distribute 130 gently used running shoes we had collected back home at my shop.

At 7:45 a.m. the power was back up and registration was almost complete. A few minutes later, two bright white UN vehicles rolled across the start line, one Jeep and behind it a larger personnel carrier. A canvas flap opened and out popped several heavily armed soldiers wearing the trademark blue helmets. “I guess we have two lead vehicles,” I said. Just then, another vehicle sped toward the start line, this one with a red cross on it. So we’d have three lead vehicles.

I looked up saw that thousands of Cap Haitians had descended on the square. With the radio announcer’s voice booming through the air and the sounds of the brass Haitian band rambling along in unison, the runners lined up at the start. “OK, we’re all ready to go,” I said. “Let’s get on with the national anthem and begin.” The small stage was crammed with Haitian dignitaries, radio people and press from all over the country. Another half-hour passed by as the dignitaries said “a few words” to the crowd, passing the microphone from hand to hand to hand. After one humorous false start, the race began.

For the finish line, chip timing was not an option, so we lugged down an old-school contraption that required tear-off bibs and a chute to corral the finishers to mark down the results. We heard the sirens of the lead vehicle approaching and saw the first-place runner seconds from the finish line. When he crossed the finish, pandemonium ensued. Down came the caution tape barricade, and spectators poured into the finish chute. I panicked and tried desperately to clear the finish area, but to no avail. We managed to get the first 12 finish times for the men and the top five women and that was it. There were thousands of people everywhere and all I could do was watch them celebrate.

We didn’t announce the prize money before the race so the top finishers had no idea what they were in for. The first-place male and female received $500 US, which is more than a year’s income for the average Haitian. Second place took home $300, while there was $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.

This race was the most chaotic, happy, spontaneous and memorable event I have ever participated in. Our UN observers estimated more than 20,000 spectators lined the route, sometimes 10 people deep. It was worth every bit of energy just hearing the words of a Haitian man who took the hand of one of the Canadians and said, “We have so much to feel down about. This gives us hope and makes us smile. Thank you. Come back.” We will be back, monsieur. Merci beaucoup pour l’expérience.

The entire Canadian team worked hard in Haiti and back home where we raised most of the money for the prizes and giveaways, as well as other expenses related to putting on the race. Because of the generous support in Canada, we were also able to help fund a new generator for a facility that houses an AIDS, medical and dental clinic.