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SARAH CAVACINI/Palatka Daily News – From left, Casey and Matthew Holbrook and Kraig and Betty McLane stand on either side of the sign advertising the fifth Life Distance, 5K & Fun Run, and the Etoniah Gravel & Social Bike Rides.
People are invited to get some exercise, engage in a bit of healthy competition or simply enjoy tasty barbecue during a series of events that will benefit local families and high school students.
The fifth Life Distance, 5K & Fun Run, and the Etoniah Gravel & Social Bike Rides will be Jan. 20 at Coventry Oaks Farm, 104 Springside Cutoff Road. The event will raise money for A Women’s Resource Center in Palatka, which helps men and women during unplanned pregnancies.
The outdoor events will also honor former Palatka Junior-Senior High School student Baylee Holbrook, who passed away in September.
The event will run from 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. with races throughout the day. People can also make a donation, which allows them to stay only for the $15 barbecue chicken dinner that begins at 4:30 p.m.
Church of the Heights members in Palatka will be cooking the meals this year, and everyone who signs up to run or bike will receive a meal, event organizer Kraig McLane said.
This year’s bike rides are as short as 22 miles and as long as 100 miles. People looking for a casual ride can choose their distance, according to the bike ride website.
The bike-riding portion will begin at 9 a.m. or earlier if cycling enthusiasts choose longer routes. Registration costs $35 before Jan. 20 and $45 on the day of the ride.
Register for the bike rides at etoniah.raceroster.com. People looking to run can sign up at runsignup.com/Race/Info/FL/Palatka/LifeRun.
The three running distances are 6.8 miles for $50, a 5K priced at $40 or a fun run of 1 mile at $35.
There’s also an opportunity for people to get more competitive and register as a team. Some of the teams already signed up include the Palatka Junior-Senior High School wrestling team with 37 members competing, Trinity Baptist Church with 43 members and Boy Scouts of America Troop 235 with 22 members racing, according to the registration website.
The races will begin at 2 p.m., with dinnerware to be served from about 11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Organizers will start serving meals for bikers and runners around noon, McLane said.
Betty McLane, Kraig McLane’s wife and the executive director of A Woman’s Resource Center, said proceeds from the events will help the organization continue providing ultrasounds, proof of pregnancies and other services free of charge.
“Events like this help us meet our operating income every year so that we can continue to meet the needs of about 450 to 500 families every year,” she said.
Betty McLane said the 5K and cycling events raised $5,000 for the resource center, and the organization relies only on donations.
She said she had intended for some of the proceeds to go to the Holbrook family, but Baylee’s parents, Matthew and Casey Holbrook, want to donate all the funds to the resource center.
Casey Holbrook said she was young when she became pregnant with her first child and she wanted to give back to the community because she received a lot of help as a young mother.
“We’re both high school youth leaders, so we deal with a lot of the stuff that you deal with,” Casey Holbrook said about herself and her husband.
Some young adults who attend their youth groups bring their babies with them, she said, but all that matters is they attend the group.
“It’s a very positive thing that you guys are doing,” she said to Betty McLane. “There’s a lot of people in this town that need that.”
The Holbrook family is setting up a scholarship fund to last for 16 years that every year will award a high school senior $1,000, Casey Holbrook said. The student can spend the money on whatever they need, she said, adding that her family has already received enough money to fund the scholarship to its completion.
Between the scholarship and donating to the resource center, Casey Holbrook said she feels strongly about giving back to help women in the community.
“For me, it’s very important to just let them know, like, ‘You’re not alone in this. You’ve got help. There’s a town that will stand behind you,’” she said.
“I want these kids to know it doesn’t matter where you came from, what situation you’re in right now.”
For more information about the events, email Kraig McLane at bkmclane@yahoo.com or visit the events’ signup pages online.
