LAHARPE — A group of jovial runners added some color to LaHarpe’s environs Saturday morning.
Roughly 30 partook in LaHarpe PRIDE’s inaugural Patriot’s Challenge/Color Splash, ending the festivities with a blast of red, green, blue, yellow, orange and purple.
The 5-kilometer run drew participants from as far away as Indiana, including the race winner.
Nine-year-old Ben Fronk of New Carlisle, Ind., crossed the finish line about three seconds in front of his father, Chris.
The younger Fronk’s winning time of 25 minutes, 23 seconds was about a minute better than his best ever time previously, a Thanksgiving Day run last fall, Chris Fronk said.
On the women’s side, Iolan Gena Clounch finished in 31:30.
The two took home American flags that were flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Included were certificates of authenticity signed by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran.
The times were mostly irrelevant because most of the runners were delayed — voluntarily — at coloring stations throughout the course.
There, they were doused with healthy doses of powdered paint.
A shorter, 3K course was available for walkers as well, even though many walkers opted for the longer route in order to hit all of the coloring opportunities.
A large contingent, including the Fronks, were in town for the weekend for a separate event, a family reunion.
“We just though this would be a fun way to spend our Saturday morning,” Chris Fronk said.
The event was capped with a “color splash,” in which each of the runners were given containers of powdered paint to launch skyward once the countdown reached zero.
They did so, filling the sky with a colorful cloud.
Proceeds from Saturday’s run will be used by PRIDE members for upgrades at LaHarpe City Park.
TRUE COLORS LaHarpe hosts first color run
