‘We looked up to Dave’: 6th Born to Run fundraiser pays virtual tribute to a standout athletic therapist

Sprawl jumps, scissor kicks, Russian twists — how do you start your day?

The 6th edition of Born to Run included all those exercises and more. The annual fundraiser, which honours late athletic therapy instructor David H. Jones, was celebrated with a high-octane Zoom workout last month.

The turnout was impressive: 50 participants didn’t skip a beat.

In total, the Born to Run team proudly raised nearly $12,000 this year for the David H. Jones Memorial Scholarship in Athletic Therapy Endowment, and more than $83,000 since the fundraiser’s inception.

The funds are awarded via a yearly scholarship for students; this year, Born to Run’s Zoom instructors included 2019-20 recipient Sabrina Manolakos.

“The virtual edition was a lot of fun — I think everyone really enjoyed it, and I was thrilled to be a part of it!” she said.

“Dave Jones gave so much to the department and to the profession of athletic therapy. I am very humbled to be receiving the award in memory of such a great man.”

In his 20 years at Concordia, Jones helped to nationally certify hundreds of athletic therapy students and played an integral part in the launch of the university’s interdisciplinary PERFORM Centre.

He was also a Bruce Springsteen fan who strongly believed in encouraging others to live a healthy, active life  — so the fundraiser’s name, Born to Run, was a natural fit.

For Christina Grace, BSc 01, a laboratory instructor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology in Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science, this hands-on event is an ideal way to pay tribute to Jones.

“Dave was someone you looked up to,” Grace said. “He had the reputation of being a tough instructor, but the high expectations he set for his students were simply his way of helping us become better athletic therapists and, really, better people.”

This year, at Born to Run, instructors guided the participants through four 20-minute workouts, with a series of moves ranging from dynamic stretches to push-ups and weighted breaststroke. The session ended with calming yoga.

“This is a good opportunity for us to sit and reflect on the great inspiration that Dave Jones was,” Grace said to the assembled Zoom crowd. “He was a great mentor to so many people.”

Support the David H. Jones Memorial Scholarship in Athletic Therapy.