history
Alan Belaiche, the founder of the pride & remembrance run, had always seen philanthropy as a valuable exercise. In 1994, during a conversation with his friend Richard-Robert Leroux, Alan realized he hadn’t done anything to support the 2SLGBTQ+ community. When Leroux died of AIDS in 1995, that germ of an idea his late friend had planted began to grow into what would become the pride & remembrance run in early 1996.
The race was initially conceptualized as a bike ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls. However, facing logistical challenges, organizers pivoted to a five-kilometre run starting and ending in The Village (Church and Wellesley) and looping around Queens Park — the route we still run today!
With no idea what to expect that first year, an agreement with Starbucks was secured to stock registration forms and hang race posters in all Toronto locations. More than 300 people participated on race day and raised $8,000 for The ArQuives (formerly known as the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives) and the AIDS Memorial. The success of this first year showed the run’s potential to become an athletic-focused Pride event which raises funds for the community. The run has grown to well over 2,100 annual participants and now boasts many major financial supporters, including long-time platinum sponsor BMO.
Since its inception in 1996, the run has become a staple in many Torontonians’ Pride Month celebrations. Alongside the scores of newcomers participating in the Run each year, there is a strong contingency of community members that have been participating or volunteering for in some cases for more than 10 or 20 years. The race has raised almost $4 million dollars to benefit dozens of community-based 2SLGBTQ+ organizations.
As the pride & remembrance run celebrates celebrates 30 years of turning remembrance into momentum, it will focus on our theme of Run it Forward by:
Building on our legacy as Canada's largest 2SLGBTQIA+ fundraising run
Amplifying joy, pride, and community solidarity
Honouring those who built this foundation while energizing the next generation
Demonstrating that remembrance and celebration fuel each other
Every stride builds what comes next.
after party, 2004
