Students were covered in all colors of the rainbow at the school’s first Color-A-Thon. Over 190 people ran on April 25 to help support the music program.
“There were so many people there I ended up running with a bunch of people I didn’t even know. I made some new friends and finished a race,” said freshman Brianna Kramer.
In total, the run raised $6,400.
“[We raised] $2,400 from individual student fundraising and $4,000 from the GNHS Music Boosters,” said Laura Bertermann, a coordinator of the race.
The money raised will go toward improving the music program.
“The Music Boosters will use the money to purchase large ticket items such as a ‘Band Barn’ for storage, a Travel-Trailer for the Marching Knights, as well as instruments and clinician fees,” Bertermann said.
After raising a certain amount of money, students were rewarded with prizes.
“I got a pair of these super cool wiper sunglasses and a weird wig that ended up covered in color,” said freshman band member Caiden Silverberg.
Although there were many students, especially those involved in band who ran the race, community members also participated. Little siblings, members of rival schools, grandparents, parents and even dogs attended.
“This was an all age community event. Anyone could have attended, and we encouraged members of the community and surrounding communities to participate. It was open to anyone that wanted to run, walk or dance their way through a 5K,” Bertermann said.
Since the event was aimed at anyone in the community, many runners had little to no experience and would not consider themselves runners.
“I don’t normally run on a daily basis, but the run was so fun,” Silverberg said.
After the success of this year’s event, students look forward to the future, so they can improve their own running and the event itself.
“I can’t wait for next year’s race! I just hope they have a clock or timers for the next race,” Kramer said. “I like to try to beat a personal record every time I race to help improve my time.”