By Richele Frank (April 2009)
On Friday, April 3, Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was killed while running in the trails at Pacific Spirit Park in Vancouver, BC. Based on the information the RCMP have released to date, it could well have been a random attack in broad daylight.
I did not know Wendy, but this senseless tragedy gripped me. Details of her death spread very quickly – the fact that a runner had been killed in the forest in a population renowned for their embrace of all things outdoors was shocking. She was one of us – a fit, energetic athlete, an advocate of athleticism (she was a director of the BC Games Society), a mother of two and an organic, gentle spirit.
I regularly run alone in the trails at Pacific Spirit and have never thought twice about safety in such a pristine location. I live in Kits and this park is practically my backyard. It is a stunning and extraordinary place to run and the epitome of the reason I run – to escape, to challenge myself and to enjoy the solitude away from the bustle of city life.
I have never considered running a risky activity. I run to stay healthy, for the joy of the camaraderie with other runners and because it there is such simplicity in it. A pair of runners can take you so far in this life – tie on your shoes, put on your watch and go. There is no safety equipment prescribed – no life vests, no harnesses, no flares. Yet, this tragedy is a sad reminder that an abundance of caution must be taken with even the simplest activities.
On Saturday, April 4, the day after Wendy’s death, a girlfriend and I had planned a two and a half hour run that would have passed the intersection of the Clinton and SW Marine trails, a hilly 26 km loop. Part road, part trails. At 7am that morning, we abandoned any plans to enter the forest out of fear. No one knew whether there was a murderer still on the loose in our trails. My girlfriend cancelled on the run, and I set out on the roads and the very populated seawall for my last long training run before beginning my taper for the Boston marathon.
During that entire run, my mind was ablaze. How could this happen? What horrible, sick, terrible person would perpetuate this act? Are these trails lost to our running community? And over and over again, the aching thought that it could have been me, one of my friends, any of us. I made it only 18 km that day – my stomach ill and my mind racing. When I arrived home, I burst into tears.
So I took action. I sent a letter to Wendy’s family, and started to organize my friends and local running groups for an informal friendship run in memory of a beautiful life lost and to bring together a community of runners. We planned the run for Friday, April 10th because a group of Wendy’s friends were planning on walking at the same time. The local media contacted me on shortly thereafter, and all of a sudden the idea was on fire. It quickly became apparent that we had the force of our community behind us.
My initial hope was that 30- 50 people would show up. Rounding the corner of Salish onto 16th Avenue early Friday morning after marking the trails, we were stunned. The crowd assembled was literally hundreds upon hundreds – so many people that the tiny gravel parking lot at the Parks office was overflowing with people and 16th Avenue was lined with cars. So many people that the trailhead was congested and the crowds spilled out down 16th Avenue. Women, men, children, babies, dogs. Running groups, walkers, all ages. Everyone was running and walking shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe.
Wendy’s family and friends were in attendance, amongst hundreds of new friends. This informal friendship run rippled into something beyond us, attracting not only just the runners in the community but even non-runners who woke early on Friday morning and drove in from adjacent cities to participate.
The outpouring of support and compassion from our community was incredible, and truly showed our resolve to ensure that the deviance in our society does not get the best of us and prevent us from enjoying our beautiful outdoors. I am so proud to live here, and I am so proud to have played a small part.
For the beautiful life that is lost, I am so sorry. Yet, even in the wake of this senseless tragedy, there is some light. Our community has rallied, and in particular the running community has shown its resilience and enthusiasm.
Regardless of the outcome of this tragedy, there also is a lesson for those of us that love the trails. Always, always be aware of your surroundings.
As inconvenient as it is going to be, we may need to make concessions to ensure our safety – taking a few extra minutes to let someone know where we are going and when we’ll return, or making arrangements to run with a partner or a group. Local running groups are arranging group trail runs (we have a very informal group that runs trails Tuesday at 6pm from the 16th Avenue Parks office). If you are currently running alone, pop into one of our many running shops and inquire about their groups (or join us!).
We’ll need to consider running with a whistle and a mobile phone. As runners, we are focused on being light, running unencumbered…but notwithstanding the annoyance of the added weight, certainly my life is more important than a couple of minutes shaved off my run.
We’ll need to avoid dawn and dusk. True, we all lead busy lives and try to cram in training runs into hectic schedules, but we need to be aware that risk increases at these times of day.
We’ll need to make eye contact with those on the trail with us. Maybe even say hello, or smile and wave. Heads up.
We’ll need to turn the I-pods off or leave them at home – as inspirational as it may be on brutal incline of the Spanish trail, it is blocking out the surroundings and preventing us from fully being aware (it is also preventing us from enjoying the blissful silence of the forest!).
For the meantime and the probable future, I will not return to the forest alone. But that will not keep me from feeling the wind at my back.
