Held
this year on Saturday, October 27th at Morehead Park
on the Downtown Greenway, the Run 4 the Greenway event featured both
a one-mile-long costumed walk/run and “doggie jog” and a
four-mile-long road race, with routes that wound around downtown
Greensboro, past water stations and cheering crowds, to Morehead
Park, where an awards ceremony followed. There was also a costume
contest, with prizes for the best adult, kid, and dog costumes, to
add to the fun! It all culminated in a big party, with music,
entertainment, kid’s activities, and food. There was even a beer
garden available for the adult guests.
This
year’s theme was ‘Go Green’sboro, incorporating
environmentally-friendly features. One of the corporate sponsors was Unifi Manufacturing, Inc., a company headquartered in Greensboro that recycles plastic bottles into polyester yarn called REPREVE (more info on REPREVE here: https://repreve.com/ ). It can be used to make all sorts of things, including the t-shirts that were given to runners and volunteers for the event. Each shirt contained five water bottles’ worth of recycled
PET plastic, and was wonderfully soft and comfy, with a great design
and colors, as you can see from the picture. Unifi also provided a big green recycling bin where people
could exchange their water bottles for environmentally-friendly,
reusable stainless steel straws provided by Brooks Pierce, a local law firm. Everyone was getting in on the green action!
The Greenway is a planned four-mile loop of pedestrian and biking trails around downtown Greensboro that features public art and some nice green spaces for people to enjoy while getting some fresh air and exercise. It is partially completed, and recently a new section opened along Bragg Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Five Points, where Freeman Mill Road meets Gate City Blvd. The trail continues through Morehead Park up to Spring Garden Street. There is also a section open in the northern part of the loop, along Smith, Eugene, and Fisher Streets between Spring and Greene Streets, around LoFi Park.
Laura
Lorenz, Downtown Greenway Assistant & Campaign Manager and Run 4
the Greenway Race Director, reported that with over 250 runners, walkers, and party-goers, it was
a great event, and she is looking forward to next year's event, which will feature new race routes and a new location. Looks like we're keepin' it fresh as well as keepin' it green! Here is the link for the Greenway project website: http://downtowngreenway.org/
You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!
Photograph provided courtesy of Unifi Manufacturing, Inc.
