The Elementary School Fun Run was set to celebrate its 40th year last May, but that celebration was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So Saturday morning’s Elementary School Fun Run, Walk and Roll at Mill Race Park will be the 40th. But since COVID still is lingering, a big celebration has been put on hold.
“We’d like it to be a really big event, but it’s kind of hard to do that yet,” said Randy Stafford, who has organized or helped with the event the past 27 years. “We’ve changed where the start line is, and we’ve spread it out a lot more. There’s more separating the kids at the start, and we’re asking everybody to be mindful of social distancing and to please wear masks.”
Hand sanitation and wipes will be available throughout the park.
The Elementary Fun Run, Walk and Roll is open to pre-kindergarten kids and students from all elementaries in Bartholomew County and will be accessible for disabled children this year. There is no cost, and all participants will receive a t-shirt, with finishers getting a ribbon.
The top five finishers in each race will get a place ribbon, and the big school and small school with the most participants will receive a trophy.
This year’s event will feature seven races beginning at 10 a.m. To maximize social distancing, the races for Grades 1 through 6 will be separated into boys and girls this year.
Pre-K and Kindergarten boys and girls will run together and will be a quarter-mile. Grades 1 and 2 will run a half-mile, Grades 3 and 4 will run a mile and Grades 5 and 6 will run a mile in separate races.
The races will start 15 minutes apart, with an extra 15 minutes added after Grades 1 and 2 and after Grades 3 and 4 to allow people from completed races to leave the park.
Online registration is available through the Columbus Parks and Recreation site and through Columbus Running Club site, runcolumbus.org
Race day registration will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, but those entrants will not be guaranteed their preferred t-shirt size. Pickup for bibs and t-shirts will be Saturday morning at the park.
This year’s events will be untimed.
“We just want to minimize contact with them at the finish line,” Stafford said. “We’re trying to minimize how many people congregate.”
