A great tradition, a personal challenge, a celebration of RLC spirit
by Jessica Sheppard, Director of Program Integration
On Friday 21 April, the RLC community came together for the school's Hekkla Run/Walk/Bike: a personal challenge unique to RLC, and a significant part of the school's history. While current students, staff, and members of the extended RLC family gathered in person, many other RLC alumni and friends completed virtual Hekkla (or Hekklette) events around the world. Some notable aspects of the day:
the dynamic twin duo, Baron and Chase ('25), who were the fastest student finishers of this year's run and bike, respectively, in their first-ever Hekkla event;
Obi and Olsen (both class of '26) who worked together to push each other to achieve their goal of a sub-2h finish;
Thea ('23) and Logan ('27), this year's first female student finishers, who supported one another from start to finish and crossed the line hand-in-hand;
our Foundation Years students who completed the entire distance before the cut-off time: Logan, Grace, William, Rhein, and Rosalie;
the wonderful guests—alumni, family, and friends—who made the trek(kla) to Hekkla to join us in-person: Chris Criswick, Melissa Lloyd ibarra, Stephanie Adams, Kyle Riley, Andrew Dennis, Luanne Wrightman, Scott Hayter, Gina Smyth, Corinna Krocker, and Bill Morris;
our Parent Guild volunteers, Maria Badley, Ange Mullen, Carol Newall, and Jessica Tickle, who made sure participants were well-fed... and even better supported;
RLC bus drivers Johny & Rachel who made sure everyone got to and from the event course safely and efficiently;
everyone who covered more ground than they ever had before, who achieved their goals or exceeded the expectations they'd set for themselves, and made the decision to try to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Of course, there are so many more success stories to share. Our "spirit awards"—given by students to students at Friday evening's celebratory dinner—were a lovely representation of participants' encouragement of one another, and willingness to push themselves. They all have stories to share, whether those stories be of camaraderie, challenge, success, or surprise.
Ultimately, the essence of the day, the spirit of the Hekkla, and the answer to the question "why do we do this?" can be summed up beautifully with the words of Fari ('23): "That was so much fun: I've never run so far in my life. This is one of my best days ever."
