First 0.5K for United Way was a huge success
Adults, children, dogs and even a cat were waiting at the start of the “race for everyone” on Aug. 14 at the Warehouse Restaurant in Roscoe Village. The 0.5K was the kick off fundraiser for the United Way of Coshocton County.
The race is taking the place of the Taste of Coshocton that is their usual large fundraiser. The committee had planned to hold the 0.5K last year, but couldn’t due to COVID. “We’ve had to reschedule it three times and we are so appreciative of John Larson with the Warehouse. He’s always so willing to work with us,” said Lyn Mizer, executive director of the Coshocton United Way.
“We had such a great turn-out for this. It’s great seeing everyone having fun and the costume. We hope to do this again next year, with possibly a different location. There is a lot of traffic in Roscoe and we want everyone to be safe,” said Mizer.
The event was all about fun and as proof of this, several “police officers” were on hand to pass out citations for running, blocking the sidewalk, sweating and several other issues. “The person with the most citations will get a prize,” said Mizer.
Mizer also said they couldn’t do this without their local sponsors. “Whenever we need something, the community steps up. We can’t say thank you enough to everyone who helped us with this and continue to support us.”
Rhonda, Whit, and Thad Booher came from Indiana to join the fun. “My cousin is local and said this was a race we could all do, so the boys skipped school yesterday and we drove five hours to be here.” Whit was dressed as a man eating alien and Thad was in a shark costume. Rhonda’s cousin, Heather Gregg, is from Caldwell. “I ran a race in Marietta this morning, skipped the awards and rushed here so we could be part of this. It’s such a great idea and super fun.”
Valerie Grace invited several friends from St. Clairsville to join her in the race. “We did a ‘fake’ marathon last spring on Tik Tok. You had to send videos or pictures in and that was fun. I thought this would be lots of fun, too.” Debbie Kalinowski, April Elizeus and Heidi Costain all agreed it was a fun event. Costain said it was a great way to raise money.
Miracle and Rob Mahle, from Knox County, also enjoyed the event. “This is hilarious. I love it – they need to do it again. It’s for such a great cause,” said Miracle. Rob agreed. “I loved it. I’ve heard about it for a long time and it’s nice they got to do this. It was a great turnout and I hope they do it next year, too.”
Steve Oster, United Way of Coshocton Board President, said, “People had a great time. This really is the race for everyone. This helps us continue to support all of our agencies. We can’t thank the Warehouse and John enough for all they have done. Coshocton is a great community that continually supports us.”
After the race, all athletes enjoyed lunch from the Warehouse and prizes were awarded.
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