ARLINGTON — About 200 brave souls joined the Arlington Runners Club run on the first day of snowfall, Dec. 13 to support Toys for Tots.
About 6 inches of snow had accumulated on the ground and the temperature was below freezing, but the race began promptly at 11 a.m. when more than 100 runners, joggers and walkers began their journey around the Arlington Airport.
About an hour later, 104 participants crossed the finish line. Several abandoned their efforts due to the inclement weather.
The 5K in a first prize was awarded to Aaron Newsom for finishing in a time of 19:00 and Carrie Nunally was the top woman finisher with a time of 21:17, according to club president Jon Hatfield.
The 10K first prize was awarded to Sean Gregory for finishing time of 37:31 and Tammy Sowards was the top woman finisher with a time of 47:52.
“The highlight was collecting three overflowing shopping carts of toys for the Toys for Tots toy drive, which were delivered to Haggen Food & Pharmacy that day, and we raised about $2,000 cash for the Toys for Tots at the same time,” Hatfield said.
“People were very generous, especially considering the economic concerns.
“In 2008 we raised $7,753 for five charities: Housing Hope, Eagle Wings DisABILITY, Cocoon House, Arlington Dollars for Scholars and Toys for Tots,” Hatfield said. They have scheduled the year ahead with the following dates:
n On May 30, Eagle Wings DisABILITY, Walk & Roll Run starts at either Legion Park in downtown Arlington or back at Haller Park.
“We’re working with Eagle Wings to see what we can do to make the run easier for the disabled,” Hatfield said.
n On Aug. 1, the Cocoon House River & Rails Run starts at Haller Park.
n The Housing Hope, Run for Hope Sept. 19 starts at the Stillaguamish Athletic Club and runs the airport trail.
n Next year’s Toys for Tots run on Dec. 5, starts at the Stillaguamish Athletic Club and runs the airport trail.
Hatfield said the schedule for 2009 is reduced by one run, the Dollars for Scholars event.
“The participation for that run was very low,” he said.
“We hate to drop what we’re doing for the kids, but there just wasn’t enough public interest. Dollars for Scholars was great though,” he said. “They were top notch and very involved.”
