Ex-soldier and family savour Navy Run success

Running Through Time: MWO (Retired) Bill Cantwell’s family has run in each of the past four Navy Runs at CFB Esquimalt. From the left: Liam Cantwell, Chantelle Sinclair, Shane Cantwell, and Bill Cantwell.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Giving gifts or treating Dad to Sunday brunch are traditional ways to celebrate Father’s Day, but not for Master Warrant Officer (Retired) Bill Cantwell and his family.

For the past four years, the 53-year-old, his wife Chantelle, and two of their children have made running the Navy Run their Father’s Day tradition.

“To me it’s the perfect way to start Father’s Day,” said Cantwell. “We still go out for brunch after the race.”

The annual road race is organized by Personnel Support Programs staff and is held on the third Sunday of June. The 2018 run featured 580 runners and a separate race for young children held near the finish line in Naden.

This year Cantwell was brimming with pride at the finish line because he and both of his sons, 13-year-old Shane and 16-year-old Liam, won gold medals in their run categories, and posted in the top of their overall race fields.

The family patriarch was tops in his 44 to 55 age category finishing the five-kilometre course in 22:45; he was 17th overall in the 5K, which he said was an encouraging improvement over times posted in past years. But Dad still wasn’t fast enough to beat son Shane who finished 38 seconds faster for first in his up to age 15 category, and 14th overall in a field of 222 runners.

On the 10-kilometre course Liam took first overall in the 16 to 24 age category with a time of 38:23, and was third overall among 206 runners. Wife Chantelle Sinclair, who Cantwell described as the family’s most dedicated runner, placed sixth in the women’s 45 to 54 category with a time of 1:01:56.

“Even though everyone in the family was successful at the finish line this year, to me the Navy Run isn’t about winning or losing, but just improving on past performances, and much more importantly coming together as family in an activity we all enjoy,” said Cantwell.

To achieve their goals Cantwell and his two sons trained all year.

“We worked for it and it paid off with each one of us improving on our times from last year,” said Cantwell. “It’s a valuable lesson for everyone to learn because with running things happen slowly, but if you put the effort in and don’t give up you will get better.”

Cantwell says he and his family are already looking forward to next year’s Navy Run but know they will need to put the practice time in to have a chance at retaining their titles.