A girls weekend can unleash all kinds of shenanigans.
In three days, four gal pals are piling into a car and travelling to the coastal metropolis for a good time but also for a great cause.
The second annual Concrete Hero competition kicks off Sunday in downtown Vancouver, when over 1,000 participants will run, jump and climb their way through nine kilometres of obstacles to raise money for the BC Cancer Agency.
The Shotgun Sallies, a team of Greater Trail women, is ready for the event that anyone can be part of, because it isn’t designed just for extreme athletes or gym junkies.
The Sallies are longtime friends that are used to a little scuffle as all four are members of the Rossland Trail Roller Girls roller derby team.
Debbie Wallis, Stacy Gach, Christin Davis and Jacki Dyment have been physically and mentally preparing for the urban challenge since the spring, but over the next few days they could use some community support to pump up their determination and bump up their fundraising goal.
“The four of us always have a great time together so we’re looking forward to the weekend and raising money for a good cause,” said Gach.
A minimum of $400 has to be raised before they can get on the mark, set and go at the start of the race at 10 a.m. on Aug. 17 at the city’s Strathcona Park Oval Track.
Aside from the Cedar Avenue Salon pledging $250, the women have garnered funds for the 2014 Concrete Hero contest mostly through friends and family, but they still need a little more to meet their goal.
With Gach’s father currently going through his own cancer journey, and the disease prevalent in Wallis’s family, the women feel a personal connection to the fundraiser and anticipate a sense of accomplishment once the finish line is crossed.
“I like a challenge and a goal,” said Gach. “We’ve been going to spin and working out since we found out about it on Facebook,” she explained. “At first I thought it would be a lot of fun, and then I found out it was a fundraiser for cancer which gives me an extra push.”
Concrete Hero began last year in a city-wide movement to support the BC Cancer Foundation and improve the lives of people affected by cancer.
Money raised will support leading research and clinicians at the BC Cancer Agency whose search for new discoveries and improved treatment options impact patients and families in every community throughout the province and Canada, notes a Concrete Hero media release.
“It’s a good cause,” said Davis. “But we are really looking forward to the physical challenge because once you do it, the elation you feel is just amazing.”
To help the Shotgun Sallies reach or exceed their fundraising goal, drop by the downtown Trail salon, or visit the Cedar Avenue Salon & Esthetiques Facebook page.