'Very important': Neonatal intensive care among causes Calgarians turn out for in Mother's Day Run, Walk and Wheel
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Thousands of Calgarians laced up their runners and gathered in the east parking lot of Chinook Centre on Sunday morning for the 2025 Sport Chek Mother's Day Run, Walk & Wheel — an annual event to celebrate moms while raising vital funds for charitable causes, including neonatal intensive care in Calgary.
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Now in its 47th year, the event is one of Calgary's largest family fundraising traditions, supporting both Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities and the Calgary Health Foundation. Participants could choose from a five-kilometre walk/run, a 10-kilometre run and a 1-kilometre kids race. The course stretched north along Elbow Drive over into Mission, with road closures in place to accommodate the steady stream of runners, walkers, wheelers and stroller-pushers.
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That spirit of connection was shared by many families and fundraising teams throughout the morning, including Annie Dalton, part of a team of about 20 people called 'Lisa's Dandelions,' made up of friends and family of Lisa Lavertu, who is facing a stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
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'(It's) going to be two years since her diagnosis in August . . . she's already beaten the odds,' Dalton said. 'It's all about getting together. It's a way to celebrate her (and) show support.'
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The team's name was inspired by the dandelion as a symbol of resilience — something that is 'gentle yet resilient and strong,' Dalton said.
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For longtime participant Lara Vogel, the event carries personal significance. She's taken part in the run for a decade, but it now holds deeper meaning since the birth of her one-year-old son, who required care in the NICU after birth. On Sunday, she walked the 5K while pushing him in a stroller.
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'The reason I started was because the money went towards NICU support, which I think is very necessary,' she said. 'Now that I'm a mom and the cause has helped me, I want to continue doing it and raise money.
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Funds raised for the Calgary Health Foundation will benefit the NICU at Foothills Medical Centre — the busiest of its kind, according to the foundation.
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'In Calgary, one in eight kids have to go to the NICU. The national average is 1 in 10, and we don't know why that is,' said Rebecca Bowman, chief development officer and vice-president of philanthropy at Calgary Health Foundation. 'Part of the money that we raise for NICU is going into research to help find the source of that problem, so we can fix (it).'
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While the CHF supports NICUs at all the hospitals in Calgary, most of the funds will be directed to the Foothills unit, home to the busiest Level 3 NICU in Canada, which deals with the 'most serious' cases, Bowman said.
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