Peach Festival 5K makes its return
Photos courtesy of Shea Greer
The Ruston High Cross Country team got a big boost in team funds after a successful Run for the Peaches 5K event Saturday morning. The top female finisher is Morgan Keen (right) while Marc Eichhorn (left) was the top male finisher. They are shown with their Mitcham Farms peach gift box.
Whether it was to support the Ruston High Cross Country program or make room for inevitable Peach Fest pounds, the first Run for the Peaches 5K turned out successful Saturday morning.
As part of an effort put together by the Ruston Cross Country Booster Club, 103 participants signed up and 96 raced in Saturday’s 5K, raising $4,800 for team travel expenses and equipment purchases.
Ruston High Cross Country coach Dustin Cochran appreciated the community support for an event that hadn’t been part of the Peach Festival in a long time.
“I haven’t seen a 5K at the Peach Festival in a long time; I mean that was something I did when I was a kid, and we ran it as a team,” Cochran said. “I was super encouraged with it being back and it going as well as it did.”
And $4,800 made the start of the peachy day that much sweeter.
“Not bad at all for a weekend of work,” Cochran said. “A lot of people came out and even some people donated too.”
The race started and finished at Hoss Garrett Stadium on the RHS campus and made its way through Rock Island Greenway Trail as runners competed with fun spirits in mind.
Shea Greer, a member of the RHS Cross Country Booster Club, saw the event as a success and is thankful the community came together to support the Bearcats in any way they could.
“It was a fabulous day,” Greer said. “We were very pleased. It was our first year putting it on and the first year having the 5K associated with the Peach Festival, so it turned out great. It all went off without a hitch. We could not be more pleased.”
Awards were given to the top three in each age group, including top overall male and female runners Marc Eichhorn and Morgan Keen, respectively.
Eichhorn finished with a time of 18:28 for the men, while Keen finished in 25:49 – both earning medals and a Mitcham Farms peach gift box as their prize.
Cochran said most of the 5K funds will be used toward new uniforms and team travel expenses, while last year’s event raised enough money to help purchase two stationary bikes.
“Coach (Trey) Smith and I have a list of some things we’d like to get, but I think I’m going to get us some new uniforms, we really could use those and that will be a chunk of the money. The rest will probably go toward travel, hotels and all that.”
The booster club’s next fundraiser is the Ruston High Running Camp June 14 through Saturday June 17 for ages first through eighth grade at The Gospel from 8-10 a.m.
Greer said the camp encourages young kids to take up running and learn basic movements in a fun environment. Cost is $60 per student and registration will end June 12. For questions, contact Rebecca Byrd at 318792-8356.
“It’s a way to give back and help develop a love of running with smaller kids and get them to start early,” Greer said.
