Footstock makes a point of supporting local causes with any surplus funds from registration collected for the annual day of foot races and kids' triathlon.

Recently a $3,000 donation was made to the Cochrane Activettes food bank, and additional donations were made to the Îyârhe Nakoda Food Bank and BGC Cochrane and Area.

Race director Meredith McMorran says their number one charity has always been the Activettes food bank.

"We were very happy to be in a position to make a $3,000 donation to the Activettes," says McMorran. "It's a bit of a partnership that we have going with them. They have been long-time supporters of our event and if you've been around the festival finish line area in the past, you've probably seen Activettes volunteers helping to serve food to finishers after their event."

Footstock also regularly donates to the Îyârhe Nakoda Food Bank

"That's another need we recognized, so for our neighbours to the west, we always try and make sure we remember them."

The amount available to give to the community varies from year-to-year.

"We were very fortunate because some of our sponsorships came in the form of in-kind donations that meant we didn't need to spend as much money in terms of our bottom line. There are other years where it's a little bit thinner in terms of what we may be left with once the race is over."

footstock donationProceeds from this year's race also helped to provide support to the BGC Cochrane and Area.

The 23rd edition of the race in June marked a triumphant return of the live event, attracting people of all ages to their 5, 10, and 18k solo races, 18k relay, and kids' triathlon.

All of these events will return on Sunday, June 4, 2023, and registration opens on Feb. 15.

McMorran says they will be focusing on increasing registration for the Barnett Orthodontics 18k corporate/family relay. With 3, 5, and 10k segments, she says it meets the needs of all runners.

Besides more businesses, they are encouraging more school groups to participate.

"One school, École Notre-Dame Des Vallees, puts in three teams, and so this year, we're really going to be looking to other schools to try to get more of the teachers out or even the parents' groups participating on behalf of schools."

It will be the third year of the relay and teams from Garmin, who is Footstock's title sponsor, have won the first two times.

"As much as we love Garmin, we'd like to see them get a little bit of friendly competition."

More on Footstock can be found here.