Building Safe Space |
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The Whistler Half Marathon was born from a desire to help others and strengthen our community. To us, social solidarity means coming together for the betterment of everyone, even those we may never have the opportunity to meet.
As a public event, we believe that our actions - however small or large - can make an impact on breaking societal norms, biases, and conditioning that unknowingly cause undue hardship to others, and we are committed to making changes to what we do to help guide the ship of humanity towards what is just and right.
The stories of Aaron Webster, Alberta Williams and the rise of hate crime in Canada are truly tragic. So, what do we do? We begin with the small changes within the big picture that we control.
It is up to all of us to change the narrative, disrupt the norm, and humbly work toward a greater understanding of one another. Only then will we have hope to create lasting systemic change.
For us, it starts with sharing the following as our sextant to guide us to greater solidarity. We are conscious that we are human, and we don’t do this work without error and missteps, and we ask for constructive feedback and understanding when we do. We wholeheartedly believe in the words “Expecting perfection leaves a lot to ignore,” penned by activist and philanthropist Eddie Vedder.
At the risk of overstating the obvious, the Whistler Half Marathon will not tolerate any actions spoken or otherwise, of discrimination or oppression based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity or expression, ability, religion or faith, area of origin, occupation, health, or socio-economic status. This applies to our crew, participants, partners, and spectators at in-person events as well as online and social media environments.
Our Efforts in Truth and Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous neighbours is essential, and we strive to view all that we do through that lens. Today and in the future, we aim to learn and listen while growing our understanding of the history of this country and working towards sharing more local Indigenous culture through the event. We will engage with Indigenous athletes, partners, organizations, and community members throughout our planning. Moving forward, we aim to collaborate and develop our event in meaningful ways to share more of the important Indigenous culture in this region.
Our Efforts in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
DEI in our community is a core principle and lens through which we look to ensure anyone and everyone feels welcomed, recognized and able to participate in our events to the best of their ability. We recognize that a trail run on gravel surfaces with some steep inclines is exclusionary to people living with some disabilities, however, we will work hard to welcome persons with disabilities of all kinds whenever possible.
We will work with members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, the Indigenous community, marginalized members of the community, and other priority populations to better understand what we can do to eliminate biases and barriers to participation in our planning and execution of events.
We will support financially restricted athletes with no cost entries through partnerships with local organizations, helping to remove financial barriers to participation.
Our celebrations will go beyond the podium and aim to bring focus on success and accomplishment that isn’t traditional in the running world – we have many more successes to celebrate than we have recognized in the past.
As a public event, we believe that our actions - however small or large - can make an impact on breaking societal norms, biases, and conditioning that unknowingly cause undue hardship to others, and we are committed to making changes to what we do to help guide the ship of humanity towards what is just and right.
The stories of Aaron Webster, Alberta Williams and the rise of hate crime in Canada are truly tragic. So, what do we do? We begin with the small changes within the big picture that we control.
It is up to all of us to change the narrative, disrupt the norm, and humbly work toward a greater understanding of one another. Only then will we have hope to create lasting systemic change.
For us, it starts with sharing the following as our sextant to guide us to greater solidarity. We are conscious that we are human, and we don’t do this work without error and missteps, and we ask for constructive feedback and understanding when we do. We wholeheartedly believe in the words “Expecting perfection leaves a lot to ignore,” penned by activist and philanthropist Eddie Vedder.
At the risk of overstating the obvious, the Whistler Half Marathon will not tolerate any actions spoken or otherwise, of discrimination or oppression based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity or expression, ability, religion or faith, area of origin, occupation, health, or socio-economic status. This applies to our crew, participants, partners, and spectators at in-person events as well as online and social media environments.
Our Efforts in Truth and Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous neighbours is essential, and we strive to view all that we do through that lens. Today and in the future, we aim to learn and listen while growing our understanding of the history of this country and working towards sharing more local Indigenous culture through the event. We will engage with Indigenous athletes, partners, organizations, and community members throughout our planning. Moving forward, we aim to collaborate and develop our event in meaningful ways to share more of the important Indigenous culture in this region.
Our Efforts in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
DEI in our community is a core principle and lens through which we look to ensure anyone and everyone feels welcomed, recognized and able to participate in our events to the best of their ability. We recognize that a trail run on gravel surfaces with some steep inclines is exclusionary to people living with some disabilities, however, we will work hard to welcome persons with disabilities of all kinds whenever possible.
We will work with members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, the Indigenous community, marginalized members of the community, and other priority populations to better understand what we can do to eliminate biases and barriers to participation in our planning and execution of events.
We will support financially restricted athletes with no cost entries through partnerships with local organizations, helping to remove financial barriers to participation.
Our celebrations will go beyond the podium and aim to bring focus on success and accomplishment that isn’t traditional in the running world – we have many more successes to celebrate than we have recognized in the past.
