About 60 people join Sauble fun for SickKids Sunday

Article content

The annual eight-kilometer Sauble Beach Chamber of Commerce event had about 60 participants. It has raised more than $40,000 in support of bleeding disorders over the last several years, said Dave Fretz one of the event’s organizers.

Customers at Fretz’s grocery store at Sauble also helped raise the money by making $2 donations at the checkout.

Dave and Stacie Fretz’s six-year-old daughter, Abigail, is among those with a blood disorder treated at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. Her rare inherited disease, Glanzmann thrombasthenia, leaves her unable to form blood clots.

It means she bruises easily, has frequent nose and gum bleeds, and must take care not to hit her head to avoid internal bleeding, her father said.

SickKids treats approximately 450 children with inherited bleeding disorders.

Dave, Stacie, and their son David completed the route, which started at Lakeshore Boulevard and Chesley Lane, went south to Main Street, east to Third Avenue North, and north until it became 2nd Avenue North. When it intersects Sauble Falls Road, participants the road followed to the beach, ending near the Crowd Inn.

“Everybody had a good time. It’s a fun run or walks,” Dave Fretz said. It was part of Sauble Beach Sandfest, which included sandcastle-building and an evening concert at the beach Saturday. Thousands were on the beach Saturday.

“A lot of the local runners will participate in this,” said Jane Lemon, who organized the event. Runners like learning their run times, and there were prizes for top finishers, but mostly it’s low-key and fun, she said.

SOURCE