10 FOR TEXAS
Blue tutus, a fluffy Armadillo, and friendly cheers welcomed about 400 inaugural 5K runners among 2,500 participants to this year’s big Memorial Hermann 10 for Texas in The Woodlands. The Woodland Township’s annual Texas-themed community event kicked off with a One 4 Texas Kids Fun Run on a foggy Saturday morning. Alex Salinas, 7, and Tyler Salinas, 4, walked proudly on the Market Street sidewalk following their first attempt...
Blue tutus, a fluffy Armadillo, and friendly cheers welcomed about 400 inaugural 5K runners among 2,500 participants to this year’s big Memorial Hermann 10 for Texas in The Woodlands.
The Woodland Township’s annual Texasthemed community event kicked off with a One 4 Texas Kids Fun Run on a foggy Saturday morning. Alex Salinas, 7, and Tyler Salinas, 4, walked proudly on the Market Street sidewalk following their first attempt at the fun run with finisher medals around their neck. The boys described the experience as “good” with big, shy smiles.
“They finished very quickly,” the boys’ mother Jennifer Salinas of The Woodlands said. “They ran fast and love their snow cones at 7:30 a.m. I put mommy’s cell phone number on their t-shirt just in case.”
The boys’ grandmother Sue Kushion participated with the boys for support and enjoyed stretching and working out with the Armadillo mascot.
“To keep up with 4 years olds when I’m 64…yeah,” she laughed drenched in sweat. “But it was fun.”
Around the corner from Town Green Park and H-E-B, Susan Harte and Team Beef rang a cow bell and cheered loudly for the 3.1-mile Armadillo Run 5K and 10-mile runners headed down Grogan’s Mill Road. The Texas Beef Council sponsors the team’s approximately 1,200 runners, triathletes, and cyclists across the state, including at least 30 runners in the 10 for Texas event.
“We love this race,” Harte said. “It’s in our hometown. It’s always well-organized, there’s a lot of crowd support from the community, and it has a wonderful after party.”
Deep in the heart of Market Street, 5K runners finished as family and friends applauded with live country music playing in the background and children climbing trees next to vendor tents.
Magnolia High School track runner and student, Sara Eddings, 15, cooled down in front of the stage as the first woman to finish the inaugural 5K.
“It was really fun,” said Eddings as her mother Jackie finished her race and joined her proudly. “It was really fast. I don’t think I can run 10 miles that fast. It was nice for people who can’t probably run the 10-mile.”
Parks and Recreational Director Chris Nunes said the 5K was added to give another offering and had about 400 participants. Overall, the event had a slight increase in participants from last year, he said, with the majority of the participants entered in the 10K.
“It was very good,” said Nunes who commended the event’s sponsor and longtime partner, Memorial Hermann. “We are very pleased our community continues to be active and embrace wellness and healthy lifestyles…. Just look at this, everybody is out here sitting and enjoying the beautiful weather and enjoying what The Woodlands has to offer.”
While the event has some small economic impact, Nunes said the goal is get the community active.
“If we can get 2,500 people up and running to meet their fitness and wellness goals, to start to encourage people to maybe lose weight, all that is just positive,” he said. “But it’s more about work, play, live in The Woodlands and this is the play aspect. You don’t have to go far for high quality events, they are all in your hometown.”
For more information, visit thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov.