Local walk-run-sprint this weekend
Participants in the fourth running of the Second Wind 5K can pick up their race gear 3-8 p.m. Friday at Crossfit Madera, 1920 Modoc St., as the annual fundraiser nears.
Local nonprofits and partnering sponsors will have booths with information and samples, including Braga Organic Farms, for those who stop by. Second Wind volunteers will be on hand to register additional participants while supplies last. All participants receive a Second Wind shirt, bib chip timing, sponsor goodies, a ticket to the evening speedway race, chocolate milk, and more.
Madera Rescue Mission and Madera County Food Bank will hold the Second Wind 5K at Loanmart Madera Speedway, 1850 Cleveland Ave., on the following day, March 25. Returning is the Kids Mini Sprint that consists of a lap around “the fastest 1/3 mile in the west” — the Madera Speedway track. The sprint is open to children ages 2-10.
The 5K will start at 8 a.m., preceded by the sprint at 7:30 a.m.
“Second Wind 5K’s unique course is worth participating in,” said race director Barbara Leach. “You’ll not find another run-walk that begins and ends on a racetrack, including a rumbling local Pace Car driven by Kent Cam that leads the field off the line.”
Second Wind drew 489 runners and walkers of all ages in 2016, a year that saw both male and female course records broken by Maderan Benny Madrigal at 16:09 and race co-founder Farin Montanez at 20:19. Madrigal will return next week to defend his record.
Those who haven’t yet registered for next Saturday’s event may do so Friday or online at www.secondwind5k.com. Registration is $30 for the 5K and $20 for a Kids Mini Sprint. Kids up to 12 years old may enter the 5K instead for $20.
The Second Wind 5k was established in 2014 with the goal of providing a quality, timed, family friendly event to raise money and awareness for resources provided through the Madera Rescue Mission and Madera County Food Bank. To date, the event has raised more than $50,000, with all of the profits equally shared between the agencies.
The race offers more than aid however.
“The Second Wind team each year has the pleasure of hearing how ‘Second Wind 5K was my first run/walk and now I’m hooked!’ and ‘Second Wind 5K has changed my life!’,” said Leach. For information, contact Leach at 871-0551.
