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Most Sunday morning runs are usually pretty quiet.
That wasn't the case at Gordon Moore Park Sunday morning as the Alton Road Runners Club held its 37th edition of the Hit-N-Run Stores Pee Wee Run, a quarter-mile run for children under age 8 and under and a half-mile run for children aged 9-14. The event was part of the club's annual Summer Series, which also includes the Alton Memorial Hospital Family Run, which took place in June, and the Dash-N-Splash event, which takes place at East Alton-Wood River High School and The Aquatic Center in August.
“We've been doing this for a long time; we've got this down to a science,” said Russ Colona of the Alton Road Runners Club, who established the event in 1979 to promote running as a healthy activity for children of all ages. “Hit-N-Run does a great job of helping us; they provided drinks, T-shirts and the prizes for everyone today.”
Participants were also eligible for a post-event raffle, which included bicycles, toys, games and sets of tickets to the Gateway Grizzlies independent minor-league baseball team. An estimated 140 participants took part in Sunday's event, which was a non-competitive run.
“The run is probably the oldest run of its kind for kids in the country,” Colona said. “I was interviewed for a radio show about running about the event about 10 years ago, and it's still drawing a lot of attention.
“It's gotten to the point where we've got people who took part in the run as kids now bring their own kids to the event and take part. The fact that it's such a family-oriented event really helps bring people out to it. It's a lot of fun to put this one each year.”
Other sponsors included Pepsi-Cola and the Alton Parks and Recreation Department. More information on the run and upcoming events can be found at the club's web site, www.altonroadrunners.com.
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