5K to raise money for food ministry

It’s always a delight to hear from Harry Lassiter, who heads the Mount Pleasant Food Ministry.

He asked me to help spread the word about the food ministry’s biggest fundraiser of the year: the Spring Ahead Sprint, coming up March 10.

The Mount Pleasant Food Ministry hosted its first 5K foot race and kids’ fun run in 2009. Since then, the number of participants has grown yearly, said Lassiter, up to about 300 people last year.

There’s a way for everyone to take part in the Spring Ahead Sprint.

There’s a 5K race for runners, a 2-mile walk for the less ambitious among us, and a 1-mile fun run for kids. Registration fees range from $25 for the 5K or the walk to $10 for the fun run.

Thanks to the generosity of local sponsors, all proceeds benefit the Mount Pleasant Food Ministry.

The location for this year’s Spring Ahead Sprint is Mount Pleasant High School, on Walker Road (between N.C. 49 and N.C. 73) in Mount Pleasant. The 5K will be the course the school’s cross country team uses.

Local runner Kelly Harwood will be there to participate in the 5K. Though he has competed at longer distances, including in the Marine Corps Marathon, Harwood won’t pass up the opportunity to support the Mount Pleasant Food Ministry.

In fact, he prefers to run races that benefit a good cause, and he likes running the “challenging” cross country course instead of on the road.

Though a 5K distance is more like training for runners like Harwood – who usually runs two or three times during the week and 6 to 8 miles on weekends – he’s looking forward to the competition. The nice thing about a 5K, he told me, is that it’s a distance with which most runners are comfortable, so lots of people can participate.

And remember that even if you don’t want to run, you can still join in the 2-mile walk. Lassiter is hoping lots of people will want to take part in this fun event for a great cause.

The Mount Pleasant Food Ministry fed more people last month than ever before – more than 600 people – proving its value to the community.

The Spring Ahead Sprint will start at 2 p.m. March 10. Participants can register at Town Hall or at Moose Pharmacy in Mount Pleasant, or go online to active.com and search for “Spring Ahead Sprint.”

Both Lassiter and Harwood emphasized the Spring Ahead Sprint is a great event: a worthy cause with something to appeal to competitors and supporters alike, all organized by fantastic volunteers. Don’t miss it.