Spring is coming, and students are taking to the pavement, participating in local races held in the Greenville area and beyond.
Greenville has a wide variety of races to offer, many of them linked with local charities.
The St. Patty’s Day Dash and Bash will be held Saturday, March 16, in downtown Greenville beginning at 8 a.m. Registration is available until the beginning of the race. The race includes 5k and 10k trails, and people of all ages and fitness levels are welcome. Make-a-Wish South Carolina, Let There Be Mom and Camp Spearhead are some of the charities that will benefit from tomorrow’s activities.
The 5K Race Against Cancer is on Saturday, April 6 at 8 a.m. A high school senior at Brashier Middle College Charter High School in Simpsonville began this race to raise funds to fight breast cancer. Runners will race along the Swamp Rabbit Trail, beginning and ending at Travelers Rest Family Practice.
The Goodwill Mud Run will take place on April 13 at 7 a.m. The race will be held at Chapel Road in Greenville. A 3.5-mile obstacle course, the Mud Run is designed to be tackled by a team of four. The course is modeled after a Marine Corps boot camp and includes 35 obstacles. It will not only test a runner’s stamina but will also provide a chance to bond with friends. Plus, it offers the perfect excuse to play in the dirt.
But perhaps the most popular of the races out there right now is The Color Run. The Color Run will come to Atlanta, Ga., on April 6. This race is open to solo runners or teams. Arrive in a white shirt, and become a painter’s palette for cornstarch-based color powder. The Color Run is open to runners of all ages and abilities and is more about having fun than competition.
Catherine Cleland, a graduate assistant studying nursing, has run a lot in the past, but The Color Run will be her first official race. “It’ll be fun because it’s official and fun because it’s color,” she said. Since the race is coming up in about a month, Cleland said she will start running three times a week and cross-training in between. Cleland hopes this race will be the start of many more races to come.