Saline County race uses Grinch to support literacy
BRYANT — Every year, The Grinch comes to Saline County to try to steal Christmas flags from adult runners and then gets chased by children through Mills Park. The event that attracts him is the Reindeer Run for Reading, sponsored by the Imagination Library of Saline County and Childcare Network Inc.
The race, starting at 9 a.m. Nov. 14, helps to raise funds for the Imagination Library, which has enrolled more than 1,800 children to date for the program that sends age-appropriate books to children 5 years old and younger. Imagination Library Chairwoman Pam Toler said that $25 a year will provide a book a month for a year to one child.
Krista Petty, digital projects coordinator at the Saline County Library, said that if a child enrolls at birth, they will have received 60 books before they begin kindergarten. When a child reaches age 5, they are automatically taken out of the program. Children can enrolll in the program for free.
“I’m not sure how we came up with a gimmick race,” Petty said. “It was just during one of our brainstorming sessions. We just thought it would be fun. A lot of people who run 5Ks are always looking for unique races, so we were trying to do something that wasn’t just another 5K.”
The organizers scatter branches throughout the course, and the 5K runners are chased by The Grinch, who is usually played by a high school student. The goal of the runners is to keep their flags from the green Dr. Seuss creation. After the 5K Grinch Chase, children up to age 12 will participate in the Catch the Grinch Fun Run. Children who catch The Grinch will earn stickers.
“With the kids, we didn’t want
to scare them,” Petty said, “so we do a fun run for them. A lot of activities in the sports world don’t include them, especially in the running environment. They’re the kids we’re trying to service with the nonprofit organization. We want it to be about the kids.”
Aside from The Grinch, there will be a cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton at the event. Parton began Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee. Saline County’s division began in 2011.
Adult registration fees are $20 until Saturday and $25 after that day. Children 3-12 will be assessed a $10 registration fee. Families of four to six participants can register for $55 until Saturday and for $60 afterward. Groups of 10 or more may receive a 10 percent discount until Saturday. For people would like to pledge support but are not inclined to participate, there is a virtual runner option of $20 before Saturday and $25 after that day.
Participants can register at raceroster.com/6684 or download the registration form at imagination-library ofsalinecounty.org. For more information about the Imagination Library of Saline County, call (501) 778-4766,