Annual Riverfront Run set for October

ALBANY — The annual Riverfront Run, presented by the Dougherty County Medical Society and Darton State College, has evolved into an effective means for raising funds and promoting healthy lifestyles in the community.

This year’s Run is set for Oct. 1 in Riverfront Park and will include a 1-mile fun run at 8:30 a.m. and a 5K run starting at 9 a.m. Proceeds will benefit Darton’s Allied Health Program, which has received nearly $10,000 from the medical society since 2010 to support scholarships for students seeking a health care industry education at the college.

“The main goal is to get the medical community and the Darton Health Sciences Program together. The goal is to help promote health sciences,” said Katie Brown, a faculty member at Darton and coordinator of this year’s race.

The scholarships funded through the proceeds give $1,000-$2,000 in support to students seeking careers in fields such as dental hygiene, diagnostic sonography, emergency medical services, medical laboratory technology, respiratory care, health information technology, physical therapy, radiologic science, occupational therapy and histotechnology.

“We need doctors and nurses, but we want to promote health sciences,” Brown said.

The health sciences students volunteer at the event, and Darton’s baseball team helps with the water station. Several faculty members are on the planning committee for the event, which historically draws about 200 racers.

“We anticipate the same number this year, and it always continues to grow,” said Darton Communications Manager Jenny Collins.

For as much as the Darton campus comes together to help make the run work, a lot of credit should also go to its main sponsor, Brown said.

“We could not do it if not for the Dougherty County Medical Society,” she said.

An attempt to get a comment from the medical society’s board president, Dr. Henry Barnard, was unsuccessful Friday.

The event’s start will be from directly behind the Albany Welcome Center on North Front Street, and will follow the Riverfront Trail to the Oxford Nature Trail before ending back at the starting point. Each 5K participant use a timing sensor secured to the back of the race tag they will be wearing.

Courtesy of Event Technical Services in Sylvester, the timing system will give runners an accurate result of their 5K times. The 1-mile run will not be a timed event.

Trophies will be awarded to the overall male and female winners and masters male and female winners. Medals will be presented to the top three men and women in several ages divisions. ranging from 9-under to 80-older. All run and walk participants who cross the finish line will be eligible for door prize drawings for which they must be present to win.

Team awards are also going to be presented for best uniform, fastest cumulative time and most members, Brown said.

The awards ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at the park on the day of the event. For safety reasons, no bicycles, skate boards, roller blades or roller skates are allowed on the course. No pets are allowed.

Parking will be available behind the Flint RiverQuarium or in the parking lots located behind the buildings in between Front Street and Washington Street. There are public restrooms located in the park at the race’s start/finish point.

Registration on or before Sept. 15 guarantees a T-shirt. Advance registration can be completed on paper or online at active.com. Ahead of race day, the price is $20 for the 1-mile event and $30 for the 5K — both of which increase by $5 for race day registration, which will be conducted from 7:30 a.m.-8 a.m.

Registration forms can be downloaded at riverfrontrun.com or picked up at area locations, including Wild Side Running, Flint Community Bank, Phoebe HealthWorks and Phoebe Northwest. They may be mailed to Dougherty County Medical Society, P.O. Box 1828, Albany, GA, 31702.

Packet pickup and registration will be available from 3-6 p.m. at the Albany Welcome Center on Sept. 30. If needed, packets can be delivered to teams, Brown said.

For more information, or to sponsor or volunteer, send an email with contact information to the medical society at [email protected] or call (229) 436-8191. Brown may be reached at (229) 317-6897 or at [email protected].