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About the MRA | Your Board of Directors | Promotional Video | History of the MRA

Your Board of Directors

The MRA is managed by a volunteer board. Your current board is made up of the following individuals:

John Murphy

President

John has been involved in running for many years, to date he has completed 14 full marathons, plus many half's, 5k's, 10K's and relays. He started running because he needed a flexible exercise program, that fitted his work travel schedule, fitting in short runs where he could, and then he became hooked on the sport. He ran his first full marathon in 2000, and found it so rewarding that he did another 2 that year.

While he continues to enjoy running, he now finds that helping others achieve their running goals to be more rewarding.

Last year he received a volunteer of the year award from the "Canadian Diabetes Association" for his work with "Team Diabetes", since 2004 he has assisted with organizing and training participants for various marathons, he said most of the participants are new to the sport and to see them achieve their goal is both humbling and rewarding, he plans on continuing to recruit and help others to achieve their running goals and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

John retired in 2006 from the North West company, after a lenghty career that he enjoyed in retail operations and marketing with "The Bay" and the "North West Company".

He believes running/walking is not only very rewarding but great exercise for all ages.

He is looking forward to working with the MRA board team and helping all runners have an enjoyable and rewarding experience as they strive to achieve their running goals.

James Slade

Past President

I'm married with two part-time kids and a dog. My life goals for this year are to run faster than the dog and to not sleep in the doghouse. I'll run another marathon this year (I have run 6 so far so I'm still a newbie). I have been a volunteer board member for the Manitoba Runners' Association for four years, so I have been to lots of meetings while the dog stays home in front of the TV. My wife says my motto should be 'need for speed', but she's too late. I already have a motto: Training is what you do after your brain says, “this is hard!!!”. Hey, it even applies outside of running, so I like it. I have been teaching at Red River College for 11 years and loving every minute.

Dreena Duhame

Secretary

This is Dreena's sixth year as a board member. She has been running since 1979 and has run everything from 5k to Marathon. Dreena is a retired legal assistant and is a cat lover. She hopes to be running when she is 90.

John Wichers

John has been a member of the MRA for about 16 years. John was born in Holland, NL and came to Canada in 1957. He started running at the age of 47. His first race was the Churchill Drive Ice Cream Run and his second race was the Manitoba Half Marathon. His first full marathon was the Twin Cities Marathon at the age of 57. To date he has run in 20 full marathons, 35 half marathons and numerous shorter races.

John is retired from the Rehab Centre for Children where he was the Director of Mechanical Design and Services (making wheel chairs and other special equipment for children).

John has a passion for children and plans to work with kids to help get them started running. He plans to keep running himself for years to come.

John was inducted into the MRA Road Running Hall of Fame in March of 2008 as an Athlete/Builder.

Brad Havixbeck

New to the MRA, new to the MRA Board and relatively new to the sport of running, I am ready to take on the challenges. Having only been running for a little more than a year, I have quickly become addicted and ran in 2 marathons, 5 half marathons and countless shorter races in 2009. Prior to 2009, my running mainly involved chasing a soccer ball around the pitch as I am an avid soccer player. My work takes me traveling around the world, so I am taking every chance I can to get out and train or race in far off locations such as Dubai, Germany, The Netherlands, Turkey and Mexico. I even completed the Cayman Islands Marathon in 2009. Plans are already underway for some interesting runs in 2010. I am looking forward to working with the MRA to continue to grow the enthusiasm for running in Manitoba. Run safe, have fun and I hope to see you out at coming events.

Ron Latter

Ron has been involved in the running community of Manitoba since the age of 30. Now, some 42 years later, he wants to share with others some of this good quality lifestyle.

Ron has been retired for over 20 years. He and his wife of 47 years, Elaine are enjoying family and their five grandchildren. He hopes to help the MRA road races be an enjoyable experience with good memories.

In 2007, Ron was inducted as a Legend of Grand Beach for his community contribution of founding and directing the beautiful Grand Beach Sun Run.

Ron looks forward to seeing you at your next MRA running event.

Edwina Keats

Edwina is new to the Manitoba Runners' Association, new to the Board; however, not so new to running. Having completed 4 full marathons and many half's, 10k's and 5k's since she began running in 1978 in her small community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. Completed her first full marathon at the age of 50 in Ottawa with her daughter, Cheryl. Edwina currently is a Manager at Health Canada and has many years experience working in various departments within the federal government. In addition, to satisfy her passion for running, she has taken on a role as a part-time employee of the Running Room. Edwina joined the Manitoba Runners' Association to help it accomplish its goal to achieve the best running and road racing possible. I like to run because….”it makes me feel good”.

Reesa Simmonds

I have been running since joining the ‘running club' in elementary school, and a few years ago I was taken with longer distances, specifically the marathon. I will expectantly participate in organized running events for life; accordingly, I am interested in simultaneously supporting the MRA races and interests of fellow runners. I've marathoned locally, in Toronto, Boston, Thailand, and Philadelphia, and I've learned the value of incorporating running with seemingly unrelated travel. I am a medical student; interestingly (to some), year-round I commute to and from the Bannatyne Campus via running. My current goal is to find the time to commit to a running club, with the aim of getting faster. Wishing you good health and success with goals—running and otherwise—and see you out on a popular city route or at an MRA event!

Neil Ternowetsky

Neil Ternowetsky is an avid runner who has recently decided to take running to a new level. Neil has competed in four Manitoba Marathon's and is registered for his fifth this coming June; he plans to finally crack the 3:35 mark.

Neil started distance running at the age of 23, once his junior hockey and lacrosse playing days came to an end. At the time, running was more a means of shedding the extra weight that he had packed on after two years with no competitive sports. To be specific, Neil put on 60 pounds in the two years after his lacrosse and hockey days.

Four years, four total races ran, five pairs of running shoes, two pairs of insoles, over 60 pounds lost and more than 2000 miles later, Neil has finally realized that it might make sense to run more than one race a year; that's why he has joined the Manitoba Runner's Association and Athletics Manitoba; he is registered for more than 20 races this year.

Outside of running, Neil is passionate about the outdoors, traveling and serving people. Last September, Neil spent two months in Tanzania working in a community development project and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro . Next February, Neil will be working in an elephant reserve in rural Thailand on route to travelling around the world with his wife Lori.

On a professional note, Neil works for the Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company as an Analyst. Despite the title of being an Analyst, Neil's responsibilities include maintaining the documentation developed by the Service Management team and coordinating the internal communications that are dispersed throughout the company. On the side, Neil coordinates group travel and customized trips for those looking to travel with a purpose.

Regardless of where he is working or traveling, Neil, like many others, will always have a deep attachment with running; an attachment that serves as an insane outlet for maintaining some sanity in life.