The race will begin and end at George S. Birnie Park. The runners will run through EOU twice before returning to Birnie.

Parking at Birnie Park is limited and will be full before the 9am check-in. We strongly encourage all people attending the race to park at EOU’s lot at the corner of 6th street and F Ave. Parking at the lot at the stadium will minimize cars parked on 6th street where participants will run as well as avoid the temporary hold of traffic on Gekeler when the race begins.

SoleKIDS and their buddy runner will need to check-in on the morning of race day. Each SoleKID will receive a race packet that includes a bit, a chipped wrist band and a bib for the buddy runner. Bibs will be attached with 4 safety pins. When placing the bib on the shirt (kids should be wearing their SoleKIDS shirt), please place the bib below the SoleKIDS logo.  In addition to receiving bibs, both child and sponsor will need to confirm that all required waivers have been signed.

The race will begin exactly at 10am. SoleKIDS runners and sponsors will have a maximum of 1.5 hours to complete the course.

What is a sponsor runner? We ask all parents to provide a “buddy” or “chaperone” runner for your SoleKIDs runner throughout his/her race. SoleKIDs makes every attempt to provide a safe race course, it is your responsibility to ensure they make it safely around the course. While we appreciate all of the sponsors coming out to support your runner, please help your sponsor understand that this will not be his/her “time to shine.” We ask that all sponsors stay with or behind his/her assigned SoleKIDs runner. We will have volunteers on bicycles, runners, and at each intersection and throughout the course but please help them keep an eye out for anything that might pose a safety risk (vehicles backing out of driveways, etc.). If you can’t keep up with your SoleKIDs runner, let them go!! They’ll love beating you to the finish!!!

It takes a team of volunteers to pull off a well-organized and successful race. Check out our race day volunteer opportunities below, and fill out the form if we can count on your support.

• Registration table volunteers: This is the first stop for runners as they pick up their bibs. Duties include assigning runners/walkers their bib number, greeting participants with smiles, answering questions/providing race information.
• Start and Finish line volunteers: This is an opportunity to cheer the runners on as they start and finish the race! You will help position runners at the starting line and hand out finishing medals at the end. This is a huge accomplishment for these kids! Let them know how proud we are of them.
• Course volunteers: Help keep our runners on course. Be a key player in keeping the excitement and momentum going on course. Your primary job will be to bring out a smile on our SoleKIDS as you cheer, yell and encourage them on. Standing for the length of the race will be required.
• Water Stop volunteers: In addition to keeping runners hydrated you are also a cheerleader! With a smile and a cup of water you can offer the support the runners need to keep going. This position will fill and stack cups with water, handing them to the runners as they pass by and cleaning up the area when the last runner passes.
• Set-up and Clean-up: In advance of the race we will need to set up the course, aid stations, registration table, etc. When this awesome 5K is over until next year, we will need volunteers to help take it all down and clean up any resulting trash.
• Buddy, Rabbit and Sweep Runners: Run with the SoleKIDS. All SoleKIDS participating in the race run with a buddy. Some families have multiple kids running or aren’t able to provide a buddy runner – that’s where you come in. We also need some faster runners to keep up with the kids who will win the race and runners who will be our sweepers, making sure no one gets left behind.

All runners should wear his/her SoleKIDS race shirt!

We know how unpredictable this fall weather can be…. please be prepared to run in whatever is thrown our way. The race will not be canceled unless weather conditions present a safety/health risk. We WILL run in the rain!!

SoleKIDS will have a first aid kits for anyone needing medical attention. One first aid location will be at Birnie Park and the other at a water station along the course. For any significant injuries, please do not hesitate to dial 911.

Finisher Medals:  All SoleKIDS who finish the race will receive a Finisher’s Medal. (Sponsors or additional community runners will not receive a Finisher’s Medal).

Overall Trophies: At 11:15 AM the Top 3 Overall Male and Top 3 Overall Female runners will be awarded a trophy. We will be using a CHIP timing system to determine top overall winners. Please note: Overall winners are not eligible for the additional grade level trophy.

Grade Level Trophies: The top three males and top three females in each grade will be awarded a trophy. Please note: Overall winners (6 runners) will only win an Overall trophy

• Will someone take pictures? Yes! We’ll be taking pictures and posting them to a site where you can have/share/download them. We will update parents by email when pictures are available and how to view them.
• Can we volunteer? YES – Click HERE
• Are there any more fees? No. The season’s registration covered the race costs.
• How do you mark the course? We use flags… follow the flags and the volunteers.

We know the hardest part of running is showing up to the start line. The race is actually more of a victory lap of all the hard work each of the runners have put in. Please help everyone have a wonderful experience by bringing your positive energy and cheering voices with you. If there’s anything we can do, please let us know.