Milestone 5K

Several months ago, during a meeting of the North Platte Area Habitat for Humanity Fund Raising committee, we found ourselves discussing some ideas to commemorate our 50th house build. We decided it is kind of a big deal so maybe something different to celebrate would be in order. That's how the Milestone 5K came to be.

The first step in making this event happen was to meet with Trudy Merritt, director for the Platte River Fitness Series. She could not have been more excited to have us as part of their series or more supportive of our efforts. She gave us some tips and ideas and sent us off to plan our race.

Now, mind you, I've never attended, hosted or participated in a 5K in my life. I ran a little track in high school but that is very, very different and a very long time ago. These days you can hear me state unequivocally that if you see me running, it is because something is chasing me. So, suffice it to say, I had many sleepless nights leading up to this event. God is in the details, as they say, and the details of hosting an event you are not familiar with are daunting.

Fortunately I had very good partners in this endeavor. My wonderful Fund raising committee - Kelly, Marci, Lori and Anna - who are the true backbone of our fund-raising efforts in that they do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to orchestrating an event. Trudy, of course, as well as the lovely and talented Lady of Whitetail (Screen print that is), Shae who had to talk me off the ledge a couple of times leading up to the event. We even had a friend and racer provide us with the hashtag we used throughout the marketing of this event...#HabitatHustle.

But then on race day the folks who really made it happen were the generous people of the NPAHFH Board of Directors who provided their talents by way of registration, sales and course guards. We actually had so many volunteers Trudy remarked that other races would be jealous of our turnout.

We also boast a number of wonderful financial sponsors who assisted us in putting on this event. When you see them, please thank them for helping to make this happen: Edwards Surveying, Nebraskaland National Bank, Fellows Home Appliance, Premiere Rental-Purchase, Tim Malmkar - American Family Insurance, Select Abbey Carpet & Tile, Front Street Auto Glass and Bain Appraisals.

Then, on race day, the runners (86 strong) came out in the blustery wind with the clouds threatening rain all morning ready to run their race. We had die-hard runners as well as the novices. We had runners as young as 11 and as young as 79. We had runners with babies in strollers and runners with babies still waiting to be born! We had parents and children cheering each other on. It was a jubilant bunch, joking about the weather and excited about the route. New to the Platte River Fitness Series, the route followed the Centennial Trail, over the river bridge, under the river bridge to the Visitors Bureau and then all the way back again. Many remarked what a great course it was. We thank Trudy, again, for that. Some of my volunteers were so inspired by the racers and the route they plan to run themselves next year! I think the multi-colored outfits worn by some of the runners had something to do with that decision however.

Thank you to all who made this race happen. North Platte Area Habitat for Humanity enjoys many friends, family and partners in our community. Now, thanks to the Milestone 5K, we have a whole new group of family members.

Until next year...#HabitatHustle