Community welcomes the new year with winter fun run
<p><strong>The winners of the 5K run: Kimberly Earhart with a time of 24:07, for the girls, and Logan Neageli with a time of 20:54, for the boys. Also pictured is the youngest runner, 2-year-old Saria Scherzer.</strong></p><p><strong>For the 2K run, the winners were Shey Hannum with a time of 08:40, for the girls, and Josh Wulfekuhle with a time of 8:33, for the boys.</strong></p>
THOMPSON FALLS – Members of the county community brought in the New Year by going for a winter run around Thompson Falls.
This was the 17th year for the fun run with approximately 100 people participating. There were two routes people could take, one at 2K and the other at 5K, starting at the Elk’s Lodge and circling back around near the airport.
People of all ages ran and walk the routes with participants in their 80s and young children running in the 5K stretch. The oldest participant was in their 70s while the youngest, who ran on their own, was around seven – some younger children were carried or rode in strollers.
While it is mainly for fun, there is a small element of competition to the fun run. After the event, awards were presented to the people in each 10-year age group who completed it in the best time.
“Some are out there just for fun, some are out there for competition,” said Sarah Neageli, the organizer of the fun run.
The fun run is a fundraiser for the Clark Fork Valley Running Club to help fund the Thompson Falls Schools’ cross country team. Since the team is not fully funded by the school, the running club helps them buy shoes as well as other equipment and scholarships.
They also held the annual polar plunge during the event. After the run and awards ceremony, some participants went to the dock just outside Thompson Falls to take the plunge. Only a few people participated in the plunge this year, though, with approximately six to eight people jumping in.
Some of the participants were a little apprehensive initially, trying to stay warm as they built up the courage to run down the dock. Once they jumped in, though, many of them recovered quickly and, while clearly cold, ran back to the vehicles smiling.
Some participants even came back for a second dive.
The event started 17 years ago and was founded by the Thompson Falls superintendent at the time. It is usually a popular event and draws a fairly regular group of participants from around the community.
Naegeli recalled there have been some participants who took the plunge in high school and have come back from college specifically to do it again.