Whitefish Lake Run scheduled for Saturday
Whitefish Pilot file photo<br>Simon Reidsma, 11, comes down a hill during the 5K Whitefish Lake Run last summer. This year's course won't have as many hills as last year.
It's time to lace up the running shoes.
The 29th annual Whitefish Lake Run will take place Saturday, June 24, with 5K and 10K races.
This year, the courses will be more runner friendly, said Dean Gianos, the race director.
"We've gone back to the older, more traditional route that we've done for 20 years," Gianos said, noting that separate start locations for the 5K and 10K races will make the event run smoothly.
"The course will be well marked," he said.
Both The 5K and 10K races will be U.S. Track and Field sanctioned events, Gianos said.
Both races start at 8 a.m.
The 5K race is designed as a loop. Runners start out on Washington Avenue near City Beach, continue east on Edgewood for about eight city blocks before turning north on Wisconsin Avenue. Runners travel along Wisconsin Avenue out of Whitefish before turning west on Glenwood. Runners then head back on Dakota Avenue, before winding back through residential streets to Edgewood. Runners travel along the length of Edgewood before turning off to the finish line at City Beach.
Runners competing in the 10K event will take a bus from City Beach at 6:45 a.m. to the start of the race, about six miles up East Lakeshore Drive, and run into Whitefish, finishing at City Beach.
Heading back into town, runners take a right on Glenwood from Wisconsin before taking a left on Dakota. Runners will then take Skyles Place to Iowa Avenue before heading to Edgewood. Runners travel along the length of Edgewood before turning off to the finish line at City Beach.
Race instructions can be picked up at City Beach prior to the race, or maps can be found online at www.sportsmanskihaus.com.
Runners are divided into categories based on sex and age, from 8-and-under to 80-and-over. The top overall male and female finishers will receive a specially designed award. Males and females who place in the top-five overall, or finish in the top five of the masters category are also elgible for awards. There will also be awards for first, second and third place in each age division.
Deadline for registration is Thursday, June 22, at 6 p.m. The entry fee is $10 for children 12-and-under and $15 for racers 13-and-over. Registration forms can be found online at www.sportsmanskihaus.com, and turned in at Sportsman and Ski Haus in Whitefish. There is no registration on the day of the race.