Earlier this month on Saturday, September 11th, the city of Golden Valley hosted its 27th annual “Run the Valley” marathon not far from the Damascus Way Golden Valley Campus. It was held at the Brookview Golf Course. Over the course of its nearly three decade history, Run the Valley has successfully raised many funds for local human service providers.
Run the Valley has both 5K and 10K marathons and this year, one of our Reentry Coordinators, Jonathan Dumas, took six of our Golden Valley residents to the marathon to assist at water station #2! For about an hour and a half, our residents passed out cupped water to the runners. This was no small feat, as it took a fair bit of coordination and timing. Residents had to partially fill cups with water and ice, as numerous runners passed by, often handing it off to them mid-stride! In other words, our residents had to be both strategic and timely. At least 40 runners were assisted by our men during the marathon. Reentry Coordinator Jonathan commented that, “people were very grateful,” to the volunteers. Many of the guys would joke to the runners that they were handing out, “the best water you’ll ever have,” or “this is some high quality H20.” Their sense of humor brought smiles to many faces!
The marathon was a meaningful opportunity for our men to get involved in a community activity by giving them something to contribute to and to participate in! The men who attended enjoyed getting outside on a nice day while serving others!