FAIRBORN — Fairborn citizens will have the opportunity to run and sweat this weekend — while benefiting their own community — at the annual Fairborn 5K.
The race, which is taking place for the 28th year in a row, is slated for Saturday, July 22 at Rona Hills Park, 600 Roehner Drive. The starting gun will fire at 8 a.m., signaling runners to take off. Proceeds will go toward the Fairborn Parks and Recreation Department. Registration, which costs $25, is open now online by visiting http://bit.ly/2u1qXIh until noon Thursday, July 20; through the Parks and Recreation office until the office closes 5 p.m. Friday, July 21, or at the race beginning at 7 a.m.
The 5K offers door prizes for registered individuals, including gift certificates to Runners Plus, pizza coupons and Kings Island passes. Individuals must be present in order to receive door prizes. First, second and third place prizes will also be awarded for each age category, in addition to the first male and female Fairborn citizens to complete the race as well as fastest overall male and female. The fastest individual older than 65 will receive a $25 cash prize, while the male or female course record breaker will receive a $150 cash prize. Josh Ordway set the male record at 14:46, while Ann Alyanak set the female record at 16:55. Age divisions, broken into male and female groups, include 9 and under, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 as well as 80 and older.
Roehner Drive will close for the race at 7:30 a.m. Refreshments will be available on the race site upon the completion of the 5K. Individuals with questions should email [email protected] or call 937-754-3090.
The 5K last year included nearly 100 participants lined up ready to run, jog, or walk the 3.1 miles through Rona Hills. The overall fastest male runner in 2016, Michael Chick, crossed the finish line at 18:18:0, while the overall fastest female runner to cross last year was Stephanie Pierce with a time of 20:28.7. Pierce was also the fastest female in 2015 with a time of 21:29:17. Meanwhile, the fastest Fairborn male runner in 2016 was Rich Hieber with a time of 19:53:2; the fastest female runner was Jodie Pierce with a time of 20:53:3. In the 65 and over category last year, the first place male runner was David Cramer of Huber Heights and the first place female runner was Pat Darling of Sharonville. Darling also won fastest female over 65 in 2015. In the nine and under category, the male winner was Xavier McDougle, who was the fastest nine and under in 2015; the female winner was Anna McDougle.
