Lloyd Schmidt

Lloyd Schmidt has been running his entire life – or at least it seems that way.

Attending Preston High School in the 1970s, Schmidt ran cross country and track and field events. He ran his first marathon at the age of 16 and he ran in the first Waterloo 10 KM Classic road race in 1978.

When The Waterloo 10 KM Classic was at risk of folding in the late 1980s, Schmidt volunteered as a race director to keep it going. He has been involved in the Waterloo Classic ever since. In 1987, Schmidt helped to transform the race into a fund raising initiative for local charitable organizations.

Schmidt, along with hundreds of volunteers, now helps to plan and organize more than a dozen running races in Waterloo Region under the banner of RunWaterloo. In addition to The Waterloo Classic, races include the Re-Fridgee-Eighter, the ENDURrun, the Baden Road Races, In Running Colour, the Dirty Dash, the Laurier Loop, the Harvest Half Marathon, Kitchener Kids with Cancer Run, The Fall Classic and the Santa Pur-suit to name a few. In total, more than 8,000 people participate each year in all these races combined.

The races that Schmidt has initiated all raise money for charities and not-for-profit organizations. To date, more than $1.5 million has been donated to organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Waterloo Region, Child Find, Canadian Red Cross, Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Canadian Diabetes Association, Lung Association, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region, K-W Habilitation Services, Hospice of Waterloo Region, K-W Counselling Services, K-W Special Olympics, and Heartwood Place.