Downtown Rocks and Runs draws hundreds to Mount Airy

One person’s Fun Run is another’s mad dash to glory as the older group of kids participating in the kid’s fun run are seen giving it their all.

Traci George is the campaign chair for the United Fund of Surry and is seen thanking participants following the conclusion of the Downtown Rocks and Runs held on Saturday.

Runners are seen checking their official time at the timing tent from Go! Sports Timing and Events following the Downtown Rocks and Runs, Saturday, August 12.

Billy Boaz (#830) seen getting his participation medals after crossing the finish line at the Downtown Rocks and Runs in Mount Airy.

Mark and Laura Marion cross the finish line hand in hand Saturday in Mount Airy.

Medals are ready to be handed out following the conclusion of the Downtown Rocks and Runs held in Mount Airy last weekend.

Samuel Haynes is seen checking his pace while participating in the Downtown Rocks and Runs last weekend.

Participants are seen getting a stretch in before the start of the Downtown Rocks and Runs, Saturday, August 12, in Mount Airy.

It was a humid and sticky affair in downtown Mount Airy Saturday morning as runners, walkers, and stroller-pushers congregated early for the 15th running of the Downtown Rocks and Runs to benefit the United Fund of Surry.

More tham 300 participants came to participate and as United Fund’s Executive Director Melissa Hiatt was seen looking over the winner’s medals laid out on a table, she said it was gratifying to see such a robust turnout.

For those who have participated in these sorts of 5k and 10k races, they follow a similar format and Mount Airy Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis was again on the microphone keeping people up to date on where to go and when.

As the racers finished their 5k or 10k course, Lewis was there calling out their bib numbers and calling a surprisingly high number of people by their name as the crossed the finish line – one of the many byproducts of living in small community such as Mount Airy.

Every runner had his or her own reason to be there, some for the challenge or training to lower their run time, while others just wanted to be in the sunshine with their friends for a good cause.

Some of the younger runners wore high school or college track team gear with logos, parents pushed strollers, and at least one couple was seen crossing the finish line hand-in-hand: a true testament of teamwork.

Whatever the motives, the result was raising money for the 26 organizations under the umbrella of the United Fund of Surry. Traci George is the United Fund campaign chair, and she said in a moment of reflection, “We are so thankful for our community who always shows up to support.”

“My college ball coach always started games with this chant; little did I know it would turn into my motto for my hometown success as we lock arms,” she said. “We are one. We are one. Nothing can stop us when we are one.”

She called it an excellent event and “a huge kick-off success. Darren Lewis was a leader behind this event, and I am so proud to work alongside him as well as our United Fund of Surry’s fearless leader Melissa Hiatt.”

There is a gentle sense of competition between George and Lewis, who was the campaign chair last year, to see who can raise more money.

Ever a cheerleader even Monday morning she was still feeling positive vibes that come from a successful community event that beat expected turnout to raise money for United Fund. For such a robust success George asked rhetorically, “Can I get a whoop whoop?”

Bruce Stonestreet of Mount Airy said he was back for a second year of the Downtown Rocks and Runs. He said he gets out to run a few times a week and said the warm and humid weather had made for a bit of a challenge.

When discussing climbing the hill from Riverside Park toward McDonald’s and First Horizon Bank at Independence Boulevard and Renfro Street he, as many others did as well, admitted that the pace slowed a bit on the climb.

Jackie Webb of King was screaming so loud for runners along Main Street that her voice cracked. Undeterred she produced a miniature cow bell from somewhere and started shaking it aggressively instead. To the casual observer it was unclear who she was cheering for, but a couple of waves and a thumbs up from runners came back her way as a way of saying thank you.

Young Miss Ryleigh and her father, both of Mount Airy, were seen catching their breath in a bit of shade along Cherry Street after they finished. She said it had been fun and admitted they both had to walk a little during the course, but they were interested in participating again next year.

As Lewis was calling out the runners’ numbers as they crossed the finish line, he told the crowd that participation had been higher than expected, always a good thing to happen when raising funds for a group such as the United Fund and their member organizations. There were so many runners that they ran out of the attractive participation medals; Lewis said they would mail medals to those who did not get one.

Two hundred and fifty-eight lined up to start the 5k race and the overall winners of the men’s 5k were Jacob Parkinson (16:45), Isaac Riggs (17:36), and Orinthal Striggles (18:05). The overall winning women of the 5k were Sara Diaz (21:21), Emily Branch (21:51), and Julia Draughn (22:37).

Age group winners were in 13 and under Josef Cox and Rileigh Jones; age 14-19 Freddy Hernandez and Emmagray Dorsett; age group 20-29 winners, also the overall winners, Parkinson and Diaz; age 30-39 Bradford Perley and Emily Branch.

Winning the age group 40-49 were Orinthal Striggles and Amy Koontz; age 50-59 Lupe Luna and Lori Boone; age 60-69 Felipe Avalos and Ann Imrick; and winning the 70+ bracket were Clarence Cropps and Marie Haynes.

With 61 participants taking part in the challenging 10k course the overall male winners were Milan Tomin (33:10), Samuel Haynes (33:24), and Cameron Cook (36:18). The top finishers on the ladies’ side were Gabriella Delay (37:18), Purity Munene (37:58), and Marlana Riley (43:58).

With only one participant in their group Blake Fink took home top prize in the 13 and younger while Aaron Aguilar won age 14-19. Winning in age group 20-29 were Milan Tomin and Isabel Mesquita; age 30-39 winners were Cameron Cook and Gabriella Delay.

The winners of the age group 40-49 were Dario Saldana and Lourdes Alvarez; Nathan Beamguard and Sally Wilging were the winners in the age group 50-59; and finally, it was Emily Read and Thomas Pobgee who took the top prizes in the age group 60-69.

The Team Fitness Challenge was won by the team from Northern Regional Hospital which fielded a team of 49 runners and walkers with a team time of 19:54. Second place honors went to the 41 participants from Altec Industries which had a team time of 26:37 and third place went to The Wild Walkers eight participants whose time was 26:37.

Other teams participating in the challenge included AES, Alliance Insurance Services, Pike Electric, Surry Yadkin EMC, The Comebacks, and the Webb’ed Feet Runners.

As far as the Kid’s Fun Run was concerned there was no official winner nor timekeeping. The runners of the two races ran a few blocks from the intersection of Main Street and Cherry Street toward First Presbyterian Church and back.

Kids that age weren’t racing for bragging right, the very youngest of them were fun just watch toddle down to the orange road cone and back with a parent in tow.

The older kids though seemed to be in training for their own future participating in the Rocks and Runs 5k and 10k because when it was time to go – these kids took off. Mount Airy Police needed to get out the speed guns to make sure these kids were keeping it below 25 on a residential street; no citations for speeding were issued.

This was the fifteenth Downtown Rocks and Runs which organizers can called a success for bringing in more than 300 runners and an untold number more family members and spectators into downtown Mount Airy, some for the very first time.

“We decided to come, and we’d never been to Mount Airy, we’ve done races in Pilot Mountain but not here. So, we decided to come and see,” said Sally Wilging who drove to race from Cary in Wake County. fun to be here. “