by Insiya Rasiwala
Ever wanted to be alive at your own funeral? That was Chip Wilson’s thought when he came up with the idea, or as some would say, gimmick, of creating a new summer event for Vancouverites.

On Thursday May 22, at his “wake”, a.k.a., a media launch to announce his newest invention, Wilson emerged smiling out of a casket, that was wheeled in by four topless male models wearing boxer shorts and bow ties. His five year-old son, present in the audience, was surprised at first, and then visibly relieved to see his father.

Wilson, the Vancouver-based entrepreneur, most well-known for his successful yoga and athletic apparel company, lululemon athletica, which has successfully ridden the yoga wave in North America, recounted, “It was when I read Catch 22, that I first thought about the irony that if I wanted to leave something behind as a legacy, it would only be after my death.”

So in a bid to create a memorial to being alive, not dead, Wilson has founded the “Chip’s not Dead Yet Memorial Mile” a race followed by a party on June 20th, 2008 on Vancouver’s West 10th Avenue, continuing up the hill past Alma Street.

Billed as “the funnest charity run alive,” all proceeds from the race will go to the BC Children’s Hospital, a cause personal to Wilson, who as father to five sons, knows that it is inevitable that he will see himself at the children’s hospital on more than one occasion.

The race promises to be entertaining, with themed “waves” such as the “Bahama’s Bridal Dash,” where you can dig out and run in your oldest, fussiest and frilliest bridesmaid’s dresses or bridal gowns;the “Russell Beer Mile Underwear Dash,” where winners have a chance to win a year’s supply of free beer; and the “Pimped Out Rides” wave, a perfect excuse for moms to deck out their strollers and push them up the hill. Of course, there is also the thrill of the “Elite” Mile with a cash prize of $20,000 and the expectation that Wilson will match every participant’s entry donations to the race. The event organizers expect a thousand participants to show up for the inaugural event and it is Wilson’s goal to grow it into the world’s largest one-mile race in three years.

For more information go to: www.chipsnotdeadyet.com/

Photo above by Dave Wielki SI photography: Chip Wilson announces The Run