Pre-registration is taking place now through March 29. Registration forms can be picked up at the Shear Magic Styling Salon at 800 Portsmouth Road in Peebles or call Shear Magic at 587-3256 and a committee member will get one to you.
The day of the 5K, runners are asked to arrive by 1 p.m. for registration and the race will begin at 1:30 p.m. There will be a category for Men, Women, and Students and a prize will be given to the First Place in each of the three categories. Walkers are asked to arrive by 1:30 p.m. for registration and the Walk will begin at 2 p.m.
A light lunch will be served starting at noon. The meal cost is by donation. The luncheon will be served inside the Track Building located at the Track.
All proceeds from the Richard Rhoads Memorial 5K Run/Walk will go to the Adams County Cancer Center and local cancer patients in the form of gas cards to aide in the expense of traveling for treatment.
The RR5K has evolved over time. It started as a fundraiser in 2012 for the Shear Magic Relay for Life Team. Richard Rhoads was battling cancer and was scheduled to be at the Walk that year but passed away on April 10, 2012, just days before the event, of kidney cancer.
After that, it became a Memorial Run/Walk in his honor with the proceeds still benefitting the American Cancer Society through Relay for Life. In 2014, as the committee evaluated the event, they decided they wanted to target cancer patients locally. Richard was a local farmer very involved in his community. He always taught his children and granddaughter to “give back”. So, with that, the committee chose in 2015 to give gas cards to cancer patients receiving treatment in the area. The logical place to do that was the local Adams County Cancer Center. While not every cancer patient receives their treatment there, the committee makes an effort to get a gas card to anyone they hear of locally that has been diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment elsewhere.
This year, the committee will celebrate Cancer Survivors by adding a Survivor Lap and a Balloon Launch. It will be a “picture” of how cancer affects our community, regardless of age, gender, race, or economic status. The committee will honor those Cancer Patients at 3 p.m. and have the Balloon Launch at 3:30 p.m.. There will be a canopy, chairs, and bottled water available so they hope any local cancer survivors will come early and enjoy the entire afternoon.
Again, the Richard Rhoads Memorial 5K Run/Walk has evolved. It’s not so much to honor Richard as it is to put a face on cancer, encourage one another, and give people a chance to give back locally to others in the fight. That, in itself, would make him proud.
Pre-register now to Walk or Run. Those that register after March 29 or the day of the event can order a T-shirt for an additional cost, but it will not be available that day, so you are encouraged to register early.
Stop in at Shear Magic Styling Salon or call 587-3256 to get your Pre-registration forms now Sunday, April 23 is the rain date if needed. All times will remain the same.
