Saturday rolled around as an awesome day for a race. It was the third annual Owen and Friends race for Autism Awareness.
This race raises the awareness of the difficulties and the joys of living with Autism. It also raises money to help those that are struggling with different special needs in the community. Four seniors with special needs that will be graduating this year from CCHS will benefit from the money that was raised to help them with life choices after high school.
There is a lot of room in this world for people who care enough to get an event like this started, not to toot their own horn, but to unselfishly stand and be a servant to those less fortunate. With the seemingly unstoppable hardships people face daily, it is events like this that bring us all into an all for one and one for all mindset. It also allows for some friendly combat on the trail, with deep seated emotions behind the ever-growing smiles.
The race began at CCHS and progressed to the courthouse where participants turned and headed back to the finish line. Not everybody ran; walkers began 20 minutes ahead of the runners, and there were plenty of shoes that were burning pavement. Over 65 people ran or walked and raised $2,153 dollars for the cause. There were raffles, enough shirts to clothe a small nation, and a great time to be had.
When the walkers crossed the finish line, it was Kelsey Stover Blankenhorn who broke the tape first with a time of 40 minutes 29 seconds, followed closely by both Dee Dee Kleman and Edna King. In the 13-25 age group of runners, it was David Tanner with a time of 17.5 minutes. Isaiah Spencer was second followed by Logan Vance. In the 26-45 class it was Gabe Hubbard first, followed by Andrea James, Brandy Tracy and Josh Gross. Geoff Hamrick took 4th overall and was first in the 45+ class. In the under 13 age group, it was Landon Delwarte and Devin Griffin taking 1st and 2nd. It was a good time by all who participated. If not for the people, the volunteers, the runners, the walkers, the people who donated and the ring leader, Regina Potasnik, it would have just been another quiet Saturday in Clay County. Congratulations to all those that crossed the finish line – you won a lot more than a plaque.
