Firestone Park 5K on fair weekend

Staff report

COLUMBIANA

The inaugural Firestone Park Homecoming 5K Race, which will benefit the park’s restoration project, will be Sept. 6 at 8 a.m.

The race on the Vision for Veterans course will be scored individually, as well as cross country-style for teams of five or more.

Participants can register before the race or in advance at SandBFoundation.org.

The race will be the weekend of the annual Columbiana Street Fair, and many area high schools have their class reunions at this time. They are invited to enter teams in the race for bragging rights as well as a commemorative dog tag, which will given to all participants.

Wounded and active-duty soldiers, and veterans, are also encouraged to enter. There will be special awards for these groups.

Cash prizes for overall finishers in the male and female categories are: first place, $100; second, $50; and third, $25.

There also will be cash prizes for the top three finishers, male and female, in the master’s (age 40 and over) and the grandmaster’s (age 50 and over) divisions.

Age groups are: 14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65 and over. In each age group, the top three finishers, male and female, will be awarded medals.

The Wholehearted Halfwits, a blues-rock band from Athens, Ohio, will perform before, during and after the race.

Registration and packet pickup for early registrants will be available from 3 to 7 p.m. the evening before the race at Dutch Village Inn, 140 E. state Route 14, and again on the morning of the race from 6 to 7:30 a.m. at Pavilion No. 1-East in Firestone Park.

The awards ceremony will take place immediately after the race.

Parking is free.

For information, call Crystal Boggs at 330-482-9105.