A local high school cross country coach knew he wanted to bring quality road races back to Downtown Huntington and make a difference in the fight to end hunger in the process.
“I have studied successful programs over the years, and I’ve noticed that successful programs typically have an element where they teach their athletes about giving back to the community,” said Huntington High School Head Cross Country Coach Justin Cox, who also teaches at the school. “That’s been a goal of mine the last couple of years, and this year I believe we were able to develop that into the River City 5 Miler.”
The inaugural River City 5 Miler was held in downtown Huntington on August 2nd and 111 runners and walkers participated in the event that started from Harris Riverfront Park. The race/walk benefited both Facing Hunger Foodbank and the Huntington boys and girls cross country teams. Participants were also encouraged to donate non-perishable food items and were offered $5 off of their registration when donating food at pre-registration events hosted by Cox.
“Personally for me my faith pushes me to look out for the needy and I believe the mission of Facing Hunger Foodbank fits that narrative and I’m happy to help support them,” Cox reported. “We’ll be able to send $1,000 of the proceeds from the race to the food bank.”
A total of 211 lbs. of non-perishable food was collected by the race and was delivered to Facing Hunger Foodbank on Monday, August 4th.