By NewsLine Staff
mail@floridanewsline.com
More than 1700 runners registered to participate in the third annual Cupcake Run 5k and 1 Mile Cake Walk fun run at the St. Johns Town Center. The event raised $29,000 for Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida, a nonprofit positive youth development program that uses activity-based games to teach life skills to girls in third through eighth grades.
On April 8, runners and walkers of all abilities completed the 5k, which is a distance of 3.1 miles, or the 1 mile fun run and received a Sweet by Holly cupcake at the finish. The overall winner, Scott Oberst, completed the 5k in 16:52, winning free cupcakes for a year from Sweet by Holly.
Many participants dressed up in cupcake costumes ranging from cupcake print dresses to cupcake-themed printed t-shirts, all vying for the prizes awarded to the Best Cupcake Costume, Most Icing (most decorative accessories), Best Family Ensemble and Best Team Costume.
Money raised from the Cupcake Run stays local, benefitting Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida. The funding is used to pay for scholarships, which provides the program to girls who need financial assistance. Scholarships account for approximately half of all participants, which equaled 420 girls for the fall season. Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, girls complete a celebratory 5k event, giving them a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. Since 2004, Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida has served more than 12,000 girls throughout Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
Save the date for next year’s Cupcake Run: Saturday, April 14, 2018, which will also take place at the St. Johns Town Center.
Visit www.gotrnefl.org to learn more about Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida.
Photo courtesy Girls on the Run
