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The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 9, 2006 - 5 Doctor got an early start on the OTMH Classic Run/Walk By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AWNINGS, CANOPIES, PORTABLE SHADE STRUCTURES The 2006 OTMH Classic Run/Walk fundraiser for the Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) is Sunday, June 18 -- but one local doctor has already run it and says it won't be tough to beat his time. Dr. Rick MacDonald would, however, love it if all participants beat his fundraising effort. "It would be an easy goal for anyone to kick my butt on my time," said MacDonald explaining he ran the 5km run in 25 minutes and 16 seconds. However, it's not about beating the clock, but fundraising for the local hospital that's key to the 2006 run that's raising funds for OTMH's Intensive Care Unit (ICU). "Basically a hospital's nerve centre is the Intensive Care Unit," said MacDonald. "The Intensive Care Unit is the heart of the hospital. A hospital is only as strong as its ICU and even though I don't use it very often for my pediatric patients, it's important to support the community hospital because it's the lifeline for the community," said MacDonald. Dr. Rick MacDonald That support is always important, now more than ever in light of government cutbacks. The pediatrician said it's important for the ICU to be strong, with proper monitors and the most up-to-date lifesaving equipment to ensure quality medical care. MacDonald has been a pediatrician in Oakville for 16 years. The Sarnia native trained at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and his wife, Cathy was training at Hamilton General Hospital. When the two married, they settled in Oakville, which was halfway between both. Today, MacDonald's wife, also a doctor, is a radiologist at Sick Kids -- and a tennis player after whom the couple's three sons, Brandon, 14, Kyle, 12 and Jamie, 8, have followed onto the tennis courts. For his part, MacDonald keeps running. "I've got to keep up to these young tennis players," he laughed. No longer the marathon runner he used to be, MacDonald continues to put in 10 to 15-km jogs four or five times a week. The pediatrician said he doesn't always have time to participate every year in the OTMH Classic Run, but attempts to do so when the always-important fundraising efforts hit a particular chord. However, that busy schedule will put him out of town on the actual run date, so MacDonald did his fundraising and then arranged with organizers to run the race ahead of time. He did so on June 1 -- at midnight. "Anyone who heard their china rattling in their cabinets, it was me," he joked, adding however that given his "midnight run" he was disappointed in his time. And just as much of the world may be tucked up safe and asleep at midnight, it may be midnight at which time someone is in need of the hospital's ICU. The OTMH Classic offers a choice of a 5km Run, a 5km Power Walk and a 3km Family Walk. And it seems that each year something new is added and so, for the first time this year, a 1km Fun Run will allow children under 10 to toddle or run their way to the finish line. The OTMH Classic course weaves its way through Old Oakville. Runners and walkers alike can bring their families. Activities during and after the Classic include bouncy tents, face painting, clowns, massages and more. Beginning after the race is the Father's Day Breakfast, sponsored by Longo's and Jennifer's Kitchen of Oakville. For $5 each, participants can enjoy a delicious breakfast with their family. The OTMH Classic will be held at Wallace Park between Reynolds and Allan Street, just south of the hospital. The Fun Run starts at 8:45 am, the Run starts at 9 am, the Power Walk starts at 9:10 am and the Walk starts at 9:15 am. Free parking is available both on site and in the staff parking lot at OTMH off Reynolds Street. Medals and prizes will be awarded for runners in "Open", "Masters" and age categories from 10 to 70+. This year funds raised will be used to purchase essential new equipment for the hospi- tal's Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The ICU ensures patients who require immediate attention have access to the lifesaving, state-of-the-art equipment they desperately need. OTMH's ICU nurses, doctors and specialists not only care for the most critically ill residents of our communitythey provide a helping hand, comforting hug, and even a shoulder to cry on. The OTMH Classic has raised over $1 million since its inception since 1996. For more information contact Aleta Mayer, Special Events Coordinator at 905845-2571, ext. 4351 or via email at amayer@haltonhealthcare.on.ca. Pick up a registration form at the OTMH Main Lobby, 327 Reynolds St., Oak-Land Ford Lincoln, 570 Trafalgar Rd, and the Running Room, 156 Lakeshore Rd E., or register online now at www.otmhclassic.com or www.events.runningroom.com. 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