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March 28th, 2024

underachievers 0.5k flyerROBERT PIERCE • Leader & Times

 

Runs of five or 10 kilometers or even longer distances are commonplace, and so too are track of events of 400 meters or less.

This weekend, Liberal Recreation is introducing a new kind of fun run, one that will require participants to go only a half of kilometer or 500 meters, which is equivalent to just less than one-third of a mile.

Unlike other runs the Rec Center hosts, Events Coordinator Christi Starr said the Underachievers 0.5K is really meant for fun.

“We want to promote it to be family oriented,” she said. “We’re going to have donuts, coffee and pizza at the end of it, which is not normal for your 5Ks. Normally, we have fruit and healthy things, but we want to have a lot of fun with this one. It’s a race anybody can do.”

Liberal Rec hosts several 5K runs through the course of the year, along with the Arkalon Assault, Splash and Dash and the OzMan Triathlon. Starr said Saturday’s run will be a chance for those not quite adept at longer distances to have some fun.

“If you can’t run three miles doing a 5K, come out and do .31 miles,” she said.

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Thus far, Starr said many people have shown interest in the 0.5 kilometer event, which she said is good for a first edition, and she said many of the participants come from outside of Liberal.

“It’s not even just locals,” she said. “We’ve had some locals, but we’ve also had people from Garden City, Ulysses, even Lamar, Colo., signing up already. I’m thinking it’s going to be big.”

Starr said the Underachievers 0.5K is something that should sound fun to anyone.

“It doesn’t sound like a hard challenge,” she said. “It sounds like something fun to go do.”

Starr said the Rec Center’s 5K runs bring 20 to 25 participants regularly with some bringing up to 40, and with a shorter distance from Saturday, she is expecting at least 50 runners and walkers.

“My goal is 50 to 75 people,” she said. “We’ll see if we hit that and hopefully go over.”

“I think it has gone really well,” she said of this year’s running season. “We had our three bigger runs back to back to back and actually had pretty decent turnout at all of them. I think it went really well and looking forward to getting it going back up in 2023.”

With any event such as 5K at Liberal Rec, participants can also walk the course, but with Saturday’s being a shorter distance, Starr said this will make it more fun.

“It’s not very far,” she said. “It’s kind of a goofy fun thing to do.”

Registration for the Underachievers 0.5K is $20 and can be done at www.liberalrec.org or by calling 620-417-8150. The event itself begins with check in at 9 a.m. at the National Beef Softball Complex. Group stretching will take place at 9:50 a.m. and the race starting at 10 a.m.

“Our path will be along there somewhere,” Starr said. “I haven’t quite got it nailed down yet, but it’s going to be around that area.”

For more information, call Starr at 620-417-8150, or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“Just let us know,” she said. “They can e-mail me or call up here if anybody needs information.”