The daughter of Cst. Douglas Larche got the annual Three Fathers Memorial Run off to an emotional start Sunday by singing the national anthem.
Hundreds of participants joined the Larche family in the rain at Moncton’s Riverfront Park to honour their late father and husband and to remember RCMP constables Fabrice Gevaudan and Dave Ross as well.
The three fathers were shot and killed in Moncton on June 4, 2014.
Nadine Larche, deeply moved by her daughter’s performance, spoke about the significance of the day after the run.
“The girls were nine, eight and four when we first started in 2014 and now they're 18, 17 and 13. To see them grow up over the years, to be here every year, it's such a special moment for all of us,” said Larche. “It gives us a place to be on Father's Day. It brings us together. It's something to do on Father's Day which is a hard day for us.”
Retired RCMP Cst. Christy Elliott said after the tragedy, people in the community wondered what they could do to support the families of the three fallen Mounties and how to get together as a community to support the families.
"A lot of people in the running community said, ‘Let's put a run together.’ So just a few days after June 4, we came together as a group and decided to put together a run on Father's Day really to give the wives and families of our three fallen members something to do on Father's Day. Somewhere to go and feel supported by the community,” said Elliott.
Mia Larche said it’s a big day for her family.
“I just really love to come here on Father's Day. It's a little bit of a hard day,” said Mia Larche. “It's really heavy this year that I knew him the same amount of time I was alive actually, because I was nine when it happened. It's really nice to see the whole community come together and support us and support each other.”
Sgt. Mathieu Roy and his wife Cst. Karine Denis-Godin of the Codiac Regional RCMP bring their children every year.
“The three fathers were friends of ours and it affected us greatly and it's our way of remembering them,” said Roy.
Denis-Godin said they were both there on June 4.
“After, we saw the whole community come together. It's an annual thing for us and it's important for us to come as a community to remember the boys,” said Denis-Godin.
The SkyHawks parachute team was supposed to make a jump during Sunday’s run, but the poor weather kept that from happening.
The team did attend however, and paid their respects at the riverfront memorial honouring Larche, Ross and Gevaudan.
Some members of the CF Snowbirds team participated in the run.
Snowbirds spokesperson Cpt. Gabriel Ferris said the RCMP is like a close family to them.
“We understand what is to lose a member in the action of duty. It's important for us to show solidarity with the run this morning and participate,” said Ferris.
Some of the CF Snowbirds team participated in the run, as did members of the Codiac Regional RCMP, some of whom served with the three fathers.
Funds raised for the run and from sponsors go to scholarships for the six high schools in the Greater Moncton area served by the Codiac RCMP.
