Red Hawks snowboarder George Devolin takes a turn at the Kawartha Snowboarding Championship at Sir Sam's Ski/Ride on Thursday Feb. 8 in Eagle Lake. Although the field only consisted of Hawks and Fenelon Falls Secondary School Falcons' riders the competition still boasted 23 boys and girls competing for a berth to the COSSA Championship which will be held at Sir Sam's this week on Feb. 15./DARREN LUM Staff

Katie’s Run reaches goal $100K to go to epilepsy research

By Robert Mackenzie

Published July 11 2017

EpLink an Ontario epilepsy research program will receive $100000 to go toward research thanks to this year’s Katie’s Run fundraiser.

Katie’s Run was held on June 24 at HHSS’s Gary G Brohman athletic field. The event which has runners and walkers participating in 2.5 km 5 km and 10 km events was started in 2012 in honour of Katie Woudstra who had a seizure in 2010 and was later diagnosed with epilepsy.

This year Katie’s Run set a goal of raising $33334 in donations with every donation being matched by $2 from the Ontario Brain Institute. While the final tally has yet to be fully counted Katie’s Run says they have reached their goal.

“An investment of $100000 directed towards EpLink from a single run is a remarkable achievement we should take pride in as a community”  Tom Mikklesen president and scientific director of Ontario Brain Institute said in a press release.  “Katie’s Run illustrates the strength of a community and the pivotal role each of us plays in accomplishing a common purpose – optimizing therapies that reduce and eliminate seizures while improving lives of people and families impacted by epilepsy.”

Over its first five years Katie’s Run earned a total of $100000. This year there were close to 200 participants at the event according to the press release. The goal of the run is to raise money to one day end epilepsy.