ASH FLAT — An upcoming Hardy fundraiser encourages participants to race in their best Halloween costumes to raise money for an area conference.
The Pumpkin Dash 6K, 5K and 4K — a fundraiser for Rock This House — will take place at 8 a.m. Oct. 29 at Loberg Park in Hardy. Rock This House is an annual women’s conference hosted by the Ash Flat Church of Christ. The conference includes speakers and music, and encourages fellowship among women.
“I like what Rock This House does,” said Staci McHenry, event coordinator. “It brings several denominations of women together for one purpose. Because of that, I volunteer to help them with this aspect.”
McHenry has been involved as a volunteer with Rock This House since its beginning. This is the first year of the Pumpkin Dash — though Rock This House has held a 5K fundraiser in the past — and McHenry is organizing volunteers for the race.
“We’ll have several during the race that day to help with timing, to help with parking, to help with registration,” she said. “Right now, I have one that is volunteering to help us fundraise for sponsorships during the race, and another to help with the clerical aspects of it. Others are just doing as needed.”
The race will begin with a 6K at 8 a.m., followed by a 5K at 8:50 a.m. and a 4K at 9:30 a.m. Race times are spaced out so runners will have the opportunity to participate in each race, McHenry said. The $20 registration fee covers all three runs.
“If you registered for this race, you can do one of these races or just walk,” McHenry said. “You can do one of them. You can do two of them. The same registration covers whatever. If you choose to do all of them, you can run a 15K.”
Costumes are encouraged for the run, and costumes don’t have to be related to the fall season.
“We’re just hoping for people to be able to celebrate the festivities of the weekend,” McHenry said. “My son is actually doing ’70s disco. I’ll probably do a more ’80s-aerobic-instructor kind of look. Any costume is great.”
Jan Haney, Rock This House co-coordinator, said the area has a lot of success with these type of runs but that the Pumpkin Dash offers a different experience.
“I think the Pumpkin Dash is going to be exciting,” Haney said. “There’s nothing like that in our area where kids can dress up, and adults can dress up, and it’s a family affair. I think it’ll just be something the area can enjoy on Halloween weekend.”
Rock This House’s past 5K was in the spring, but because this is the first year of the Pumpkin Dash event, she wanted to keep it as simple as possible, and there will be no additional entertainment or activities. McHenry said she’s happy the race is taking place in the fall because it’s her favorite time of year, and Halloween is her favorite holiday.
There is a camaraderie when people bring their family and friends to a race, McHenry said.
“[It’s a] way of getting healthy that’s also fun,” she said. “We have a great prize at the end for overall runners, as well as each race. The location is going to be on the Spring River in Hardy. With the fall leaves changing and the weather cooling down some, it’s going to be a beautiful atmosphere.”
There will be a prize awarded to the top three male and top three female winners of each race, along with a prize for the the overall race winner. The top three males and females will be awarded a “Cinderella-like” decorative pumpkin. The overall race winner will take home a Yeti Rambler, a certificate for a 30-minute massage, a $25 gift certificate for custom jewelry and $25 cash.
McHenry said she would love to see more than 100 runners participate and hopes the race brings in more money than previous race fundraisers.
“You have two sets of individuals,” she said. “You have the people that attend Rock This House annually, and you have the people that participate in runs. Hopefully, between the two, you have a merger. … Hopefully, they’ll be able to learn more about the conference and pique an interest so they participate in that as well.”
Haney said there are not many runs in the area during the fall and that the response from sponsors has been great.
“We just hope we have lots of people come in,” she said. “Since it’s early in the morning, people can drive in, run, walk, eat lunch, enjoy the shops downtown in Hardy, basically enjoy the area. It’s a beautiful time of year up here, just gorgeous. Everybody who attends will enjoy it.”
Rock This House will take place July 28-29, 2017, with guest speaker Lisa Harper at the Ash Flat Church of Christ. For more information on the Pumpkin Dash, email afcocrun@yahoo.com or call (870) 994-2430.
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.