Ranney Gorge Run Raises More Than $24,000

Lorri Taylor, of Plainfield, and Shelsey Taylor, of Kingston, raised their arms in triumph after crossing the suspension bridge over the Ranney Gorge.

400 Participants

Article/images by John Campbell

Campbellford – Mon., May 2, 2022 – After going virtual the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ranney Gorge Run returned for real Sunday with hundreds of men, women and children taking part in the annual Campbellford Memorial Hospital fundraiser.

John Russell

“We can’t begin to tell you how thrilled we are … (that) 400 participants came out today to help raise over $24,000 for the purchase of life-saving medical equipment for CMH,” hospital Foundation Executive Director John Russell posted afterwards. “Wonderful weather, great fellowship, exercise and fundraising for the Hospital.”

He said “almost 50 volunteers … helped to pull everything together” for the May 1 event, presented by Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance, one of the run’s many sponsors.

In an interview before the first of the morning’s three runs – 5K, 10.55K, and 1K Fun Run for Kids – Russell said it was “so nice” to see participants and volunteers helping to raise funds for the hospital in person once again on what was “a beautiful day” all around.

Norwood’s Eli Nesbitt set the pace for the 1K Fun Run for Kids

Caleb Burn, 17, of Campbellford, got off to an early lead and finished second overall in the 5K with a time of 22:01:87.

Peter Quevillon, 52, of St. Thomas, on the left, placed first overall in the 5K. Caleb Burn, 17, of Campbellford, finished second.

For the last two years, the hospital relied on virtual runs “where people were able to run on their own” to raise money, and while “we had some good participation,” the impact just wasn’t the same, he said.

Foundation board member and former chair Calvin Newman offered the same sentiments, in welcoming “things getting back to normal.”
Having taken part in every Ranney Gorge event, he said running with people provides “a lot more camaraderie and … makes it more interesting.”
Newman, who completed the 10.55K run with a time of 59:24.34, had raised roughly $1,480 in pledges prior to the event, making him the top fundraiser.

Mayor Bob Crate with his walking stick

It was the first Ranney Gorge Run for Trent Hills Mayor Bob Crate. He ran in the Boston Marathon way back in 1991 to raise money for the Rotary Club of Campbellford but his legs told him this time he should walk the half-marathon (10.55K), which he did, finishing with a time of 1:45:23.
“After the last two years of the pandemic and being shut up, it’s just nice to get out and be around people and support a great cause,” he said.

Among the dozens of people helping out Sunday were members of the hospital auxiliary, the Trent Hills Fire Department, and the Campbellford Lions, who served up free hotdogs to participants. They were also offered apples and bananas at no cost. Trent Hills Public Library set up a Kid Zone for the youngsters.

“The hospital’s got a lot of needs right now,” Russell said. “We’re fundraising for our clinical information system plus what I call the meat-potato items like stretchers and beds and (a) hematology analyzer for the lab.”

“And we’re also trying to build momentum and spread the word about this never-ending quest for a new hospital,” he added.

Even Spiderman (Wayne Young, of Port Hope) showed up for the run.

CMH is “getting real close” to a decision being made by the provincial government. “We were hoping they would have made some kind of announcement before the election, but we’re not quite there yet.”

Should any of the candidates show up at your doorstep, “be sure to put in a pitch for the new hospital,” he said.

For all the Ranney Gorge Run results, visit https://results.raceroster.com/en-US/results/wucgdzhr7jsn3szy

To see the top fundraisers go to: https://raceroster.com/events/2022/56527/annual-ranney-gorge-run/leaderboards/overall