Heart of the Summit 5k/10k 1 mile Run/Walk
By Jayne Sikyta
Downtown Lee’s Summit came alive at 7:30 am on Saturday, September 10, when runners and walkers of all ages set off in the Heart of the Summit 5k/10k walk/run. The event was planned by the Rotary Club of Lee’s Summit as a fund raiser for six local non-profit organizations: Hope House, Lee’s Summit Social Services, Hillcrest Transitional Housing, Coldwater, Lee’s Summit CARES for the DARE program, and Lee’s Summit Underwater Rescue and Recovery.
In the wee hours of the morning, over 140 volunteers from 80 non-profit organizations arrived to prepare for the race. These volunteers offered water and directed the runners along the course, and cheered the participants on throughout the race. They were easily identified by the bright yellow T-shirts and the enthusiastic support.
Many of the participating organizations made the event fun by
challenging others. Workplace groups
were represented by a large number of participants dressed in their signature
T-shirts. These included banks,
hospital, financial institutions, philanthropic groups, and more. Terry Trafton led a group of sixteen
co-workers from TMC/Lakewood Counseling Group, by both organizing and running
in the race. Robi Brown encouraged her
co-workers to enter the race as a team from Stewart Title. “This is the second
year we have done this and we look forward to continuing the tradition,” Brown
said. Perhaps the most popular group was
from the Lee’s Summit Police Department, lead by police chief, Joe Piccinini. They celebrated having the men’s winner of
the 5K, DARE Officer, Chris Colon, with a time of 18:53.6 minutes.
Others participating in
the race included family members. Julie
Doane, her daughter, Abby, and sister, Beverly Shuck, enjoyed strolling the
downtown Lee’s Summit streets. Karen
Arnold and her daughter, Lisa, took part in the 5K, with this being Karen’s
first race. Karen was pleased to finish
in just a little over 38 minutes. Kelvin
Hayes ended his 1-mile run in 9:22 and verbalized what most participants were
feeling, “The charities are the real reason for doing this.”
The winner of the 10K for men was Grant Holmes, a KU student and
self-proclaimed running addict. He saw
the event on the internet and decided to register. When asked about his running experience he
said, “I had hoped to be a walk-on for the KU team, but I am going for a
finance degree and was accepted to the Pharmacy school, so there is just no
time.” His time to finish the race was
an impressive 35:26.8, almost 3 minutes ahead of the second place male
finisher.
It wasn’t just a day for the people who were walking or running. There were some dogs participating as
well. Bella, a beautiful Shiba Inu, was
the first dog to cross the finish line with her owner, Dana Simon, of Independence.
Dana placed 13th in her age group, but Bella was the #1 dog
of the day! Spike, an English Bulldog,
finished the race with his owner, Greg Hul.
Greg admits that Spike had to take a break to refresh and rehydrate
while Greg ran to the turn-around point.
Two beautiful Golden Retrievers finished second after Spike’s
disqualification for sitting out some of the course.
Following the race the fun continued
with the Mayor’s Challenge Competition.
This event included David Bower of Raytown, Carson Ross of Blue Springs,
Don Reimel of Independence, Steve Dennis of Grandview, and Randy Rhoads of
Lee’s Summit. It was close until the
start. Steve Dennis quickly donned the
firefighter’s gear and raced up the ladder to “save the baby” while the rest of
the contestants were still fighting with the attire. Next came the bullet-proof vests and target
practice with guns shooting foam “bullets.”
All contestants finished to a round of applause, accompanied by
laughter, from the crowd.
Diane Seif, President of the Rotary Club of Lee’s Summit, said of the event, “Last weekend’s event brought together a diverse group of people for a great cause. We wanted to do something really special to commemorate the 50th anniversary for our club, and that was accomplished.” The Rotary’s motto is “Service above self” and that really was evidenced with the Heart of the Summit event, benefitting six local charities. The race, combined with the Chili Fest, planned by the Lee’s Summit Sunrise Rotary, made Downtown Lee’s Summit the place to be last weekend.