150 Runners – Vida Barker

Vida Barker

56, Toronto

Last year, I ran the Ottawa marathon. Little did I know that my daughter Allison, who is a member of the RCMP, had volunteered on race day. She surprised us at 6:30 a.m. in our starting corral wearing her full uniform. Hours later, still in full uniform despite the extreme heat, she ran me in! I heard the announcer say that I wasn’t being arrested, but it was mother and daughter crossing the finish line. I will never forget that day and how it felt to share it with Allison.