LOUDONVILLE — Over 100 runners and walkers young and old took to the Loudonville-Mohican bike path early Saturday morning for the 15th annual Mohican 5K.
Every year, organizers put on the event to raise money to maintain the bike path, race director Kent Schaffer said.
“This is the only revenue stream that the bike path, it’s from here down to the state park, this is the only funding for that bike path so this event is incredibly important,” Schaffer said.
Participants could race for $30 for adults and $20 for children. There were 107 pre-registered for the event while “30 or 40” registered the day of, Schaffer said.
It’s too soon to know how much money they raised this year because they also have to add in money from sponsors of the event, he added.
The race course started on Wally Road in Loudonville, near the street fair arena, and wound its way up the road all the way to Mohican Adventures. Then, participants turned around and came back to the Wally Road Soccer Fields where they were greeted by cheering onlookers and free water and snacks.
The first racer to cross the finish line with a time of 17:22 was Matt Stefanik of Fredericktown, who said this is his first 5K in 20 years.
“I was just trying to run as fast as I could,” he said.
The event ended in an awards ceremony where the overall fastest racers and fastest racers per age group, who ranged from children under 14 to racers over 70, were awarded trophies and medals.
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