“I think Iowa City is just as cool as Boulder and I always loved participating in this event out there so I wanted to bring it here,” Joe Hughes, race director said. “There just aren’t very many races here where you can run less than a 5k, so its fun to allow people go out and run a mile or a 3k or a 2k as fast as they can.”
Hughes is referring to a three-race series held Downtown Iowa City. The series consists of three races, three weeks apart, held at 3:33 pm on Sunday afternoon. The distances of the races are a 3K, 2K, and a mile. The races are sponsored by three businesses downtown; Running Wild, Active Endeavors, and West Bank.
The races are aimed at serious runners as well as families who just want to have a fun afternoon. Everyone is welcome.
“It is such a nice idea to get people out and active and it’s an easy thing for people to show up and do,” Susanna Strode, race participant and City High mom said. “Even if you can’t run very far you can probably go out and run two miles, its accessible to people who aren’t big runners.”
Hughes said in Boulder the races became something the entire community would participate in. The main goal of these races are to get people downtown for a fun afternoon.
“The family can do it, they can come down on a Sunday afternoon when your typical races are in the morning,” Brian Nerad, race coordinator for Active Endeavors said. “So it’s more to just get people downtown, and spend time while they’re downtown.”
Prizes will be offered for top three in each age group and include gift certificates to Running Wild, Active Endeavors, and downtown. This is a non-profit race series, all the sponsors have volunteered time and money to make it happen.
“The reason we got involved is because it’s just a great thing. It’s not a money-making thing for any of us,” Nerad said. “All the proceeds are going to go to Dance Marathon and Young Life, it’s just that we want to promote downtown.”
