Alexandria Community Education gets colorful with 3K run
The event drew close to 800 participants.
Pam Gust and her daughter Adeline Gust, 4, get powdered in purple as they cross the finish line with her son, Cormick Gust, 6, trailing behind wearing his rainbow headband.
ALEXANDRIA — Strong wind gusts carried a spectrum of colorful powder through sunny blue skies at the backside of Discovery Middle School on Saturday, May 7, where Alexandria Community Education held a 3K Color Run with almost 800 participants.
Runners get their first dusting of blue powder at the beginning of the 3K Color Run at Discovery Middle School on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
Thalen Zimmerman / Alexandria Echo Press
Participants ran three kilometers (1.86 miles) on trails streaming the wooded backside of Discovery Middle School, and powder stations were placed throughout to dust the runners and walkers with the colorful substance. A combination of cornstarch, baking soda, and FD&C (food-safe) dyes.
Purple powder covers Madison Kane, 14, at the last color station.
Thalen Zimmerman / Alexandria Echo Press
The event was open to all pre-K through fifth-grade students and their families. Participants paid $10 with a $40 maximum cost for families of four and up. White T-shirts displaying the events logo — a colorful sneaker with the Alexandria Public School's emblem and a loose lace spelling out 3K — were handed out to those who participated in the event.
Alexandria Public Schools came up with the idea for the 3K as a "just for fun" thing to do for students and their families. All money collected was used to cover the cost of the shirts and other materials. Water and snacks were provided.
Runners are doused with yellow powder as they exit the wooded area of the trails. Jared Wilson, front, is followed by his mom, Sarah Wilson.
Thalen Zimmerman / Alexandria Echo Press
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The event ran from 11:30 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m.
From left, Nicole Messer; Kinsley Messer, 5; Aubrey Messer, 8; Kennedy Messer, 6 and Michelle Droneck pose in front of a colorful banner at the end of the race.
Thalen Zimmerman / Alexandria Echo Press
Alexandria Public Schools Community Education, Alexandria Public Schools Student Wellness Committee and Alexandria Public Schools Physical Education Teachers sponsored the event.
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Thalen Zimmerman of Alexandria joined the Echo Press team as a full-time reporter in Aug. 2021, after graduating from Bemidji State University with a bachelor of science degree in mass communication in May of 2021.
