CLINTON — The eighth annual Clinton Hunger Run is set for March 28, beginning at 9 a.m. in downtown Clinton.
“We are so excited to launch another year of this truly special volunteer effort,” race director Meagin Warren said. “The race starts and ends in downtown Clinton, and over the years, we have been pretty successful.
“We have raised more than $60,000 in the past seven years.”
Proceeds from the event go directly to Van Buren County’s Choctaw Food Bank, which was established in 2005. Warren said the food bank assists, on average, more than 400 individuals per week at its volunteer facility next to the Choctaw Church of Christ. She said the reason the race has been so successful is because of the community of Clinton and surrounding areas.
“[It is also a result of] all the sponsors that we have every year and those participating and signing up for the race,” Warren said. “Everyone on the board is strictly volunteer, so everything goes directly to the food bank.
“Our community is so generous and giving, and they always donate so much money. We always have a ton of sponsors.”
In years past, the money was split between the Choctaw Food Bank and Foods for Life in Clinton. However, Foods for Life closed last year.
“In Van Buren County, there is absolutely a need,” Warren said. “There are not a lot of factories around here, and jobs are limited — people have to travel a long ways to get to work.
“We have a lot of poverty in the area.”
She said the volunteers, sponsors and racegoers all see the need for and the importance of the annual race.
“This year, the race falls at the end of our spring break, and one of our sponsors told me they arranged their spring break around this event,” she said. “So I know to them, it is very important.”
The race will start in front of the Van Buren County Courthouse, make a loop from U.S. 65 Business down Poplar Street and Yellowjacket Lane, and go back around to the square. Parking will be available at Howard’s Antiques and Main Street Park.
The Hunger Run course is certified by USA Track & Field, with traffic control, chip timing, a mat start and a live radio broadcast. Warren said refreshments will be provided throughout the event.
Jessica Farnsworth, who serves on the Clinton Hunger Run board and has been part of the race since its inception, said a lot of people who live in Clinton or visit the area don’t realize how big food insecurity is there.
“The event itself is one of the largest local food-raisers,” she said. “It is good for people to donate money or drop off a bag of food, but it doesn’t have the same effect as mobilizing a bunch of sponsors.
“The food banks can take these dollars a lot further. All these local businesses recognize how important the cause is, and our sponsors are incredibly generous, giving year after year. They have been a really big support.”
She said it has been exciting to see the race grow every year.
The overall top finishers and the top five finishers in every age group will receive a medal at the finish line, according to the race’s website, www.clintonhungerrun.com.
The registration cost is $20 for adults and $15 for youth 16 and younger. The race is offering a rate of $60 for a family of up to four people. On the day of the race, the cost will go up $5. To guarantee a T-shirt, runners must register by Wednesday.
Warren said she doesn’t like to order a lot of extra shirts because it takes away money that she gives to the food banks.
Warren has been a part of the race since the beginning.
“Whittnei Lindsey started it but then moved to Paragould the next year, and I have been directing it ever since,” Warren said. “I got involved because it is for a good cause, and I live here in Clinton, and I know it is good for the community.”
She said she and her kids used to volunteer at Choctaw during the summertime.
“This is a community activity that brings everyone together,” she said.
Farnsworth said she is the only one in the group of race organizers who doesn’t run the race, but she has walked it a couple of times.
“The fitness part of it doesn’t interest me, but spending time organizing the race with strong motivated people — that’s the part that really attracts me,” she said. “I don’t think I could run it to save my life.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.