'It's going to inspire people': Inaugural Kello Loop run puts accessibility first

At the Kello Loop, it doesn't matter if you walk, wheel or run.

Kello Inclusive is a modelling agency that exclusively represents people with disabilities, and Saturday the organization held its first accessible running event.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., hundreds of participants made their way around the Foote Field outdoor track, some in wheelchairs, some on foot or using a mobility aid. 

"It's going to inspire people, to remind them about the purpose that they have and the abilities that they have," said Nadine Badry, a model with the agency. "What they can do versus what they can't – and everybody can do a loop."

Badry lost one of her legs in a farming accident when she was young, and she said the loop is a wonderful way to empower people with a disability. 

The inclusive event is designed to ensure that everyone who wants to participate can, regardless of how they move their body.

There were no separate lanes for wheelchair users or people with reduced mobility, and all participants completed loops together on track, though at their own paces.

The loop was also about celebrating collective achievement. 

Each time a participant finished a lap of the track is completed, they collected a token. The tokens were then dropped off and counted, with everyone working together toward the combined goal of finishing 1,000 kilometres or 2,500 loops.

"I've just been walking it going, 'Oh my gosh, this is just really cool,'" Badry said. "It doesn't matter how fast you are. It doesn't matter. Collectively we can make a difference."

Kello Inclusive said the event was designed with help from the agency's talent, to make sure everyone's accessibility needs were met.

It's an extra step that Reeden Thiessen, a Kello model who uses a wheelchair, appreciates and it's why she travelled from B.C. to get in some loops.

"In the disabled community, there's so many people with disabilities and such a range of disabilities, finding a community is really hard," Thiessen said. "This is a very easy place for you to come and for you to belong and for you to find friends and people who are there to support you."

It's a rare event, Thiessen added, where she doesn't have to worry about whether she would be able to gain access or fully participate.

"This is something I never thought was going to be possible," Thiessen said. "Truly I haven't been able to walk or run a track ever I dont think.

"So to be able to do this and be surrounded by people who are here, and they're not judging you, and they're wanting you to succeed just as much as they're trying to succeed, is so special."

Organizers say more than 300 people registered for the inaugural Kello Loop, and they hope to grow the event next year.

Kello Inclusive said funds raised at the event will go toward future loops, and money raised outside of event fees will go to the agency's work to create jobs and train models and actors with disabilities.