If firefighter Aaron Brouwer from Prince George, Canada is lining up in the starting area in Vital Park on Sunday July 30 in Winnipeg, he’s likely not only thinking at the miles ahead, but also at the miles behind him. After his seven (!) knee injuries he’s finally there: running the half marathon at the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG).
The 46-year old Brouwer is a sports enthusiast, an athletic man who competed in team sports. Basketball (he’s now a coach at University of Northern British Columbia) softball, hockey. From the late nineties till 2019 he suffered from several knee injuries. It made him quit the team sports he loves so much. “After that last surgery four years ago I stepped a side from the basketball fields and the courts.I didn’t want to risk my body anymore and I wanted to be active with my sons, my two boys.”
And there is a third reason: his job. As a firefighter your physical condition must be excellent. “My career helps to take care of my family, I didn’t want to jeopardize that. I definitely feared to be out of work one day due to my injuries”, Brouwer says. “I couldn’t completely focus on what I was doing when I was on duty. When you’re fire fighting, the ground on which you walk is often unstable. I don’t want to constantly think at my steps, because of my bad knees. That puts my partner, the people I’m helping and myself in danger.” Brouwer, who joined the fire brigade as a volunteer when he was 19 years old and made it his job when he was 27, was able to switch from fire fighting to the prevention branch of the brigade.
Hated running
As for sports, he needed to find another way to be competitive. If you told him back in 2019 it would be running, Brouwer probably wouldn’t believe that himself. “I hated running… But the pastor at my church mentioned he ran a half marathon and I started training, started pushing myself. I’m not running to win, but I do challenge myself. To go faster, run a further distance or to try different runs. And after a while I set my goal on doing a half marathon at the World Police and Fire Games.”
The WPFG is an event for police officers, firefighters, customs officers and prison guards. It originated in the United States in the 1980s. In 1985, the first edition was held in San José, based on the idea that sports are good for the profession. Emergency workers who normally meet each other during fires, crisis situations or major accidents also get the opportunity to meet each other in a different and more fun way in one of the many sports. That is turned into an international event with a more or less competitive element. Since then, the WPFG have been held every two years. Often in North America, but Belfast (Ireland), Melbourne (Australia) and Chengdu (China) have also been host.
Winnipeg
Brouwer had his eyes on the event in Rotterdam last year, 2022. “My dad is born in the Netherlands, so I would love to see the country and the places he grew up. That was part of my motivation, but then covid happened and that changed my plan a bit. Especially when I saw the event was going to be in Winnipeg in Canada, my home country, the next year.” From July 28 to August the Canadian city is hosting the WPFG. With several sports on the calendar.
The usual sports such as basketball, swimming, cycling. The more obscure ones such as cornhole, angling and dragon boat. And the ones that has a connection with the job, like ultimate firefighting, stair running and pistol shooting. Brouwer is challenging himself in the half marathon (21.1 kilometers). “It’s gonna be my first half marathon in competition. And it is my first WPFG. I have no idea what to expect. I’m gonna be at the opening ceremony, I’m excited to be there with my family to support me. To run the distance with these knees, it’s pretty amazing.”