{"id":38737,"date":"2026-08-20T15:58:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=38737"},"modified":"2026-08-20T15:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:59:08","slug":"vasiljevic-and-wright-ready-to-run-to-toronto-to-raise-10k-for-auroras-food-pantry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/vasiljevic-and-wright-ready-to-run-to-toronto-to-raise-10k-for-auroras-food-pantry\/","title":{"rendered":"Vasiljevic and Wright ready to run to Toronto to raise $10K for Aurora\u2019s Food Pantry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aurora\u2019s most magnanimous marathoners are locked and loaded to raise over $10,000 for the Aurora Food Pantry next weekend<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the fifth consecutive year, Nem Vasiljevic and Taylor Wright will start their 42.2 KM charity fundraising trek to Toronto from the Filly and Co. where Vasiljevic is the congenial Bar Manager. The dynamic duo will complete their arduous journey at the CN Tower on Sunday, August 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor, who just graduated from Teachers\u2019 College, is ready to raise much-needed funds for the local food bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping food banks has been a long-time tradition in her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did my high school community service hours at a food bank. It seemed like an important thing for us to do five years ago. It hard to believe, but we\u2019ve raised over $34,385 over the last four years and, including this year\u2019s amount so far, it\u2019s over $43,000 all together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aspiring teacher and part-time server is moved by the community\u2019s support of their annual Charity Run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool that we have posters up in bars across Town.  The Filly has the best community spirit\u2014they\u2019re so supportive. I can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve been doing this for five years. The support has been so impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasiljevic, whose wife Laura volunteered as a food bank deliverer in Barrie until the program ran out of funds to operate, knows the importance of raising funds to battle food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiving back to the community is definitely first in terms of the most satisfying aspect of our annual run.  A close second is a couple of cold Steam Whistles at the end of the run. We always end the run around 10:45 at the Steam Whistle Brewing Roundhouse by the Rogers Centre. It opens at 11 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In quick-fire response to her running partner\u2019s insights, Wright discloses their traditional post-marathon combo at Steam Whistle: \u201cTwo pints and a pretzel for carb loading and then someone comes to pick us up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasiljevic and Wright have come to embrace the sights and sounds of the GTA when they set off from the Filly and CO at 5:45 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasiljevic explains, \u201cI like the early morning start\u2014we try to stay out of the hottest sun of the day. It\u2019s really quiet on Yonge Street and it\u2019s so historic. It\u2019s also a scenic run, but a mundane drive. We recognize every detail as we\u2019re running, including Miller Tavern, which is very tempting once we get into Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wright echoes her running partner\u2019s insights about the tranquility of running a marathon early on a Sunday morning: \u201cIt\u2019s great to see the city wake up and to see the street lights turn off one by one. We also pass TMU where I went to school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Vasiljevic and Wright expressed their gratitude for the $8,627 they\u2019ve raised so far and are closing in on their $10,000 goal to support the Aurora Food Pantry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasiljevic encouraged prospective benefactors to \u201cDonate what you can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t give, share our message and make a quick re-post on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wright concurred and the long-time food bank volunteer added, \u201cIf you can\u2019t donate money, donate your time at the Aurora Food Pantry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time has been of the essence for both Vasiljevic and Wright as they prepare their bodies for the 26-mile jaunt down Yonge Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marathon is second nature to Wright, but it has its own special challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved running all my life since I raced in an elementary school cross country meet. I don\u2019t love going to the gym, but I\u2019ve been going with a group of friends which makes it more fun. Strength training is an important part of injury prevention while you\u2019re preparing for a marathon. I went to Guatemala in February and hiked volcanoes to build endurance. All the prior training comes together because you have a goal in mind and the training gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasiljevic provided his own training update:  \u201cI\u2019m entering my deloading week since it\u2019s a week today so I\u2019ll be cutting down on running. Normally, I\u2019m running 25-20 KM a week and biking for over an hour to do another 25 KM. Any low impact exercise will be in place this week, including swimming. The bike has been a lifesaver because being on my feet for 10-12 hours behind the bar is a killer when you still have to put in your miles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To donate to Nem and Taylor\u2019s Charity Marathon and support the Aurora Food Pantry, go to https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/en\/pages\/nem-taylors-5th-annual-charity-marathon<\/a> or visit the Aurora Food Pantry\u2019s website for their promotion of this annual fundraiser at https:\/\/aurorafoodpantry.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Stewart
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora\u2019s most magnanimous marathoners are locked and loaded to raise over $10,000 for the Aurora Food Pantry next weekend For the fifth consecutive year, Nem Vasiljevic and Taylor Wright will start their 42.2 KM charity fundraising trek to Toronto from the Filly and Co. where Vasiljevic is the congenial Bar Manager. The dynamic duo will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-headline_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-a4N","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-27 22:11:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-20-01.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38739,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38737\/revisions\/38739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}