Community care isn’t a one-time thing. At LiveWell Health and Physiotherapy, our main goal is to keep our neighbours moving, healthy, and feeling their best over the long haul. Every day in our treatment rooms, we see people push through tough physical challenges and pull together to support each other. But real community care also means taking that dedication outside the clinic walls, year after year.
This September, our team is lacing up our sneakers for a tradition that means the world to us. For the third year in a row, LiveWell Health and Physiotherapy is officially taking part in the Kitchener Kids with Cancer Run and Walk.
If you’ve been following our journey or read our past blogs, you already know how much this event means to us. It’s become something our practitioners, support staff, and patients look forward to every single fall. Led once again by our team captain, Lyndsay Richards, and supported by team members Amy Jacklin and Farnaz Rostami, the whole LiveWell family is working together to beat our $1,000 fundraising goal. Every single dollar we raise goes straight to the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), an incredible organization that steps in to support families facing childhood cancer. You can visit our official Race Roster team page to see our progress and help us kick off this year’s campaign.
Building a Tradition: Three Years of Showing Up
When we first signed up for the run and walk two years ago, we just wanted to find a good way to give back to a local cause. We talked about it in our early blogs, sharing how excited we were to get involved. By our second year, it was amazing to see our patients and neighbors step up to donate and support the campaign right alongside us. Now that we are heading into year three, it has officially turned from a one-time project into an absolute clinic tradition.
Consistently showing up for the same cause lets us build real momentum. Childhood cancer is an ongoing battle that needs steady, reliable support, and returning to the starting line for a third time is our way of showing local families that we are in this for the long haul.
Lyndsay Richards, our team captain, has loved watching this event become a permanent fixture for our team. For Lyndsay, organizing the race roster and getting the word out is just a natural part of what we value as healthcare providers. Every day, we help people through tough physical recoveries. We know firsthand that healing takes time, patience, and a really good team behind you. The exact same thing goes for these families navigating childhood cancer. They need a strong community in their corner, and we want to make sure we are showing up for them year after year.
The Vital Work Behind POGO
The real driving force behind why we keep coming back to this event is the massive impact made by the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario. POGO has spent decades making sure that Ontario has a highly coordinated system for childhood cancer care.
Their work focuses on four major areas:
- Financial Assistance: Giving direct financial relief to families to help cover out-of-pocket costs for food, childcare, and travel during treatment.
- Satellite Clinics: Partnering with regional hospitals to provide specialized care closer to home, saving families from exhausting, long commutes.
- Survivorship Support: Running long-term monitoring and school transition programs to help young survivors thrive as they grow into adulthood.
- Research & Data: Tracking provincial childhood cancer data to continuously improve treatment outcomes and minimize long-term side effects.
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, a family’s whole world changes overnight. On top of the emotional weight, the practical and financial strains add up fast. Families are suddenly juggling hospital schedules, travel costs to specialized centers, and time away from work. POGO steps in exactly where they are needed most, helping to bridge the gap so parents can focus on what matters most: their child.
One of the best things they do is run the POGO Satellite Clinic Network. By working with local hospitals, they allow kids to get certain treatments and follow-up care right in their own communities. It means less time in the car and more time sleeping in their own beds. By donating to our team, you are directly supporting this incredible network of care.
Meet the 2026 LiveWell Roster
Getting ready for race day is a true team effort around here. This year, our foundational race roster features three familiar faces from the clinic who are excited to hit the trails:
- Lyndsay Richards (Team Captain): Lyndsay is leading the charge again this year, keeping us organized, updating our fundraising page, and making sure our patients know how to get involved. She’s the spark plug keeping our team motivated to hit that $1,000 milestone.
I am running to support a great cause for families that have been affected by cancer. If I can help support families even a little bit by my participation and fundraising I will do so! This is the third year I have participated in the KKWC run and while I enjoy the physical challenge I hope that my participation directly supports the families affected. Being a mom myself, my heart goes out to the families impacted by a childhood cancer diagnosis. I run for the families involved and hope that by raising funds this helps ease their financial burden so they can support their child through treatment. I am running 1 mile (1.6 km) 3 times a week and running 5K every 2 weeks. I also strength train 1-2 times a week and try to rest as much as I can.My biggest challenge is finding the time to fit in a run into a busy schedule with a toddler. The funniest moment was when my toddler asked to go for a run and we ran around our block!This is a great local cause to donate to! The funds raised go towards POGO and directly supports families in the KW region. Thank you for donating! We hope to see you cheering on our team on September 19th!
- Amy Jacklin: Amy is ready to log the kilometres and bring her signature positive energy to the course. Amy, running for the first time this year, is a perfect extension of her daily work, showing that physical health and community care go hand in hand.
At the end of 2025 I decided I wanted to challenge my fitness levels by taking up running … again…My goal was to sign up for a few races through Run Waterloo in 2026 with the end goal of running a 10km race by the end of the year. Fitness has always been a part of my life, but after having children (4 year old son, and 2 year old twin girls). Running was not something I had done in the last 5 years. Running a 10km race is something I had never done before. So this goal felt like the perfect challenge for me. Being a mom of 3, I would like for my kids to grow up seeing me support important causes like POGO. Cancer is something that comes unexpectedly, so if I can help be a part of the cause in any way, I am thrilled to help support those families. My goal has been to run 2 times a week each week adding at least 1 more km leading up to race day. Outside of running I have been doing weights at least once a week and Pilates at least once a week. My goal is to also do some HITT cardio training if I am unable to make it out for both runs in the week. My biggest challenge has been realizing that I should probably invest in some better running socks. I have encountered a few blisters and one very crabby toe nail. No matter what life stage you are in, fitness in any capacity is something I feel should be a priority in life. However, how you exercise is going to change a lot over the course of your life and that is okay. The challenge is figuring out when and where you can add it into your weekly routine. This is something that challenges me daily.
- Farnaz Rostami: Rounding out our trio, Farnaz is incredibly passionate about raising awareness for local families. She firmly believes that healthcare is about much more than what happens inside our treatment rooms, and she’s proud to show up for our community.
I’m running to support a cause I care about and to help raise funds that make a real difference.
To me personally, a charity run is more than just completing a race. It’s an opportunity to support a cause that makes a real difference while bringing people together for a shared purpose. Every step represents hope, compassion, and a commitment to helping others. It also reminds me that even small individual efforts can add up to create a meaningful impact in someone’s life.
My usual routine for exercise is strength training 2 x week and running 5K 1-2 times a week.
My biggest challenge is finding time to fit runs into a busy schedule and figuring out the right balance between running, rest, and strength training.
To everyone who has donated, supported or cheered us on—THANK YOU. Your encouragement, generosity, and belief in this cause makes a real difference. Every step taken, every contribution made, and every word of support helps create a stronger, more compassionate community. Together, we’re proving that even small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact. Thank you for standing with us and helping turn hope into action.
We would love to have our patients, neighbors, friends, and families join our team roster or share our page. We’ve already raised 25% of our goal in the opening days of the campaign, and we want to keep that momentum rolling all the way to race day.
Movement as Medicine
At LiveWell Health and Physiotherapy, our whole philosophy is built on the idea that movement is medicine. Staying active is one of the best things you can do for your heart, muscles, joints, and mental well-being. Using a community run and walk to advocate for childhood cancer care feels like a perfect fit for who we are.
When our staff runs or walks together, we are practicing exactly what we talk about with our patients every day. Training for a 5K event is a great way to boost your fitness, shake off daily work stress, and build up your endurance.
Cancer treatments can take a heavy toll on a child’s body, leaving them dealing with extreme fatigue and muscle weakness. By dedicating our steps to them, we get to celebrate their incredible strength and use our own physical health to raise funds that make their lives a little easier.
Quick Training Tips from the Team
To make sure everyone has a safe, fun, and injury-free experience at the walk or run, our physiotherapy team put together a few simple training reminders. Whether you are hitting the course with us or working on your own fall fitness goals, keeping your body safe is the top priority.
1. Don’t Do Too Much, Too Fast
The most common training mistake is increasing your distance or speed too quickly. Your muscles, tendons, and joints need time to adapt to the impact. If you’re getting back into running or walking longer distances, try a simple interval approach. Walk for three minutes, jog for one minute, and repeat. Gradually increase the jogging time over a few weeks to keep common issues like shin splints or plantar fasciitis at bay.
2. Warm Up Dynamically
Sitting at a desk or driving a car all day can leave your muscles tight and unprepared for a workout. Before you start your run or walk, skip the deep, still stretches and focus on movement. Light leg swings, walking lunges, and high knees are perfect for waking up your nervous system, getting your blood flowing, and lubricating your joints. Save the deep stretching for after your workout when your muscles are completely warm.
3. Listen to Your Body and Rest
Real fitness progress happens when you rest, not when you push through pain. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating well, and drinking plenty of water during the week. If you notice a persistent ache or joint stiffness that doesn’t go away after a couple of days of rest, don’t ignore it. Catching a small imbalance early with a physiotherapist can keep it from turning into a real injury that keeps you home on race day.
Supporting Our Kitchener-Waterloo Community
Taking part in this event year after year is a direct reflection of what LiveWell stands for. We believe that true health is about the whole picture, physical wellness, mental strength, and a connected community. When local businesses, families, and healthcare teams join forces for philanthropy, it makes our entire region a better place to live.
The success of our clinic comes down to the trust and relationships we’ve built with the people of Kitchener-Waterloo, and we consider it a privilege to give that support right back. By standing up for pediatric cancer care, we are investing in the absolute best part of our community: our kids.
Our fundraising page is officially open and ready for action. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has already donated to give us a strong start. We still have a way to go to hit our final $1,000 target, and we are leaning on our amazing community network to help us get there.
Three Ways to Get Involved Today
If you want to stand alongside the LiveWell team this month, there are a few simple ways to make a big difference:
- Donate Directly: Head over to our official fundraising page on Race Roster: https://raceroster.com/events/2026/110355/kitchener-kids-with-cancer-2026/pledge/team/1018006. You can sponsor the team as a whole or donate directly to Lyndsay, Amy, or Farnaz to help us clear that $1,000 goal line.
- Join the Team: If you want to log the miles right alongside our staff, we would love to have you. Head to the main registration page, select the option to join a team, and search for LiveWell Health and Physiotherapy.
- Spread the Word: If you aren’t able to donate right now, you can still help us out in a big way. Copy our link (https://raceroster.com/events/2026/110355/kitchener-kids-with-cancer-2026/pledge/team/1018006) and share it on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Just talking to your friends and family about the great work POGO is doing helps immensely.
We want to send a massive, heartfelt thank you to every patient, colleague, and neighbor who has supported our walk over the last two years and who is standing by us again for year three. We are honored to represent LiveWell Health and Physiotherapy at the Kitchener Kids with Cancer Run and Walk once again. Let’s lace up, step forward, and make a real difference together.
LiveWell Health & Physiotherapy – Waterloo
4-570 University Ave E
Waterloo, ON N2K 4P2
(519) 880-1733
LiveWell Health & Physiotherapy – Driftwood
8C-450 Westheights Dr
Kitchener, ON N2N 2B9
(519) 570-4247