With Fort Verde Days approaching, the Camp Verde Kiwanis Club is preparing for the return of the K Run for charity, an event that has been canceled over the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This year will mark the third time the town has hosted the event, which is set to take place at the Camp Verde Sports Complex, rather than its previous location, a section of Montezuma Castle Highway.
Steve Ayers, Camp Verde’s director of Economic Development said the change in location will serve two purposes:
- The complex’s 2.5 kilometer track will be used for all three K Run races-the 3K, 5K and 10K.
- The town will be able to avoid traffic issues and use fewer police resources.
“We have a closed course, restrooms and everything else,” Ayers said.
The previous K Runs saw attendance levels between 100 and 150 people, but now that the event is back up and running, Ayers said the town hopes to grow the event year by year.
“This year, much to our joy, Northern Arizona Healthcare is our main sponsor,” he said. “We’ve never had one main sponsor. They decided to basically cover half of the cost of the event.”
Additionally, Ayers said there have been numerous local sponsors that have contributed between $100 to $1,000 each.
“We have the cost covered, so now we just want to get some more people involved in it,” he said. “We offer anybody who is 17 years old or under just $10 to participate in it, where they run the Fun Run or the 5K or 10K, and they get a finishing medal and they get a free T-shirt to go with it.”
For adults, the cost to enter the 3K race is $15. The cost to enter the 5K race is $25 and the 10K race cost is $40. All participants will receive a finisher medal and t-shirt.
Registration is offered at fortverdedayskrun.itsyour-page.com/register.
The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 8. Sign in is at 7 a.m. and the races begin at 8 a.m.
All proceeds from the K Run will benefit children’s programs in the Camp Verde area.
“The club raises funds basically for all kinds of kid’s programs,” Ayers said. “We support scholarships, pay for kids that want to go to [Camp Verde Parks & Recreation] summer camp, grasshopper basketball; we even fixed some musical instruments here for kids at the school.”
For more information, visit campverde.az.gov or call (928) 554-0024.
