Runners of all ages were doused in a rainbow of brightly-colored powders as they made their way through Laurel Park on Saturday, April 22 as part of Choosing to Excel’s second-annual color run.
The event consisted of two synchronous marathons — a 5K marathon for the adults and a special ‘character’ run for the kids.
Penny McCray, program administrator for Choosing to Excel, explained what a character run means to the organization.
“We are not associated with the nationally hosted Color Run, but we are a character color run where each color represents a positive character trait and components of our organization — yellow: mentoring program, which represents patience; green: Healthy Families America program, which represents compassion; purple: classroom presentations, which represent dedication; blue: small groups which represent integrity, and orange: summer camp — respect,” McCray said.
These values are essential to Choosing to Excel, a local nonprofit organization that strives to build strong character in children around central Arkansas through school and community outreach.
With a small fee to register, the color run was a perfect fundraising opportunity for the team.
By the end of the event, Choosing to Excel raised a little over $3,000. This money will be used to support Choosing to Excel’s summer camp program, McCray said. The summer camp begins Monday, June 5 and is for those ages 7-15.
“We are hoping to raise money for our organization that will help sustain some of the programs we have that have lost funding due to grants ending. We also want to raise awareness that Choosing to Excel is a nonprofit promoting character building and optimal health in our local schools, community and around the state of Arkansas,” McCray said.
“We’re looking for a fun way to bring families out and also bring awareness to what Choosing to Excel does in this community, which is abstinence, education, prevention. People who don’t know about us, they can participate, learn about us and donate for the upcoming school year,” Christel West, a volunteer for Choosing to Excel, said.
West said this year’s color run is bigger and better than before.
“Last year, we were just getting our feet wet, so this year we wanted to exceed last year. We didn’t have a DJ, we didn’t have a bouncy house. Each year we just want it to be greater and more fun,” West said.
Fun was the mission and it appeared to be a mission accomplished as runners took their marks and started the race, neon powder flying at them at every corner. The more laps each runner took, the more speckled with color they became.
After everyone finished the race, the Choosing to Excel team offered grilled hot dogs to hungry runners as younger participants played on the neighboring playground.
McCray said it took months to plan the event to be just right. “Choosing an optimal date and location is first, and then the team creates committees that will focus on logistics, marketing, promoting, et cetera. We begin planning in January and meet regularly to ensure we cover every aspect so things can run as smoothly as possible,” McCray said.
Future sisters-in-law Layla Holloway and Hayden Adcock ran the marathon together.
“We ran the Little Rock 5K a month or so ago, and that was the first time we had ever done one before, so we wanted to do it again. It’s like a fun bonding experience,” Holloway said.
“It’s a nice way to get out and have fun. I love exercise and running,” Adcock said.
The event has become an annual tradition for Choosing to Excel and with the success of this year’s color run, the team has no plans on stopping it anytime soon.
To learn more about Choosing to Excel, their upcoming events and their mission, visit choosingtoexcel.org.