For the third year in a row, runners and walkers showed up for a little fun and exercise at a 5K run sponsored by Banner Health in Wheatland.

With no wind, darkness settling in, and cool weather prevailing, 52 people showed up at Lewis Park at 5 p.m. on Thursday to get some exercise before the Thanksgiving holiday. Event organizer Jacob Lee is the Associate Director of Rehab for Banner Health, and as a physical therapist is happy to find ways to encourage people be healthy and fit.

“It’s free, and we like to go and have a good time. It’s a great opportunity to be active and have some fun,” Lee said. “It’s been good every year, and we have always had a wonderful turnout.”

Though a simple event in appearances, there is a lot of legwork in organizing an event like this, and Wheatland Middle School FFA students helped to gather and prepare prizes for the runners. “It gives the kids a chance to provide some community service,” said Lisa McIntosh, Wheatland Middle School FFA Advisor. She added that it’s great to have the opportunity to help with an event like this.

The FFA students helped gather donations of turkeys from Thrifty Foods, Safeway, First State Bank and Wheatland Country Store. The FFA volunteers also hung flyers up around town and donated materials for the pies and cookies, which were made by Julie Balzan’s lifeskills students at the Middle School. 

All that effort added up to the most contributions to be given away this year to runners bold enough to get outside in November weather in Wyoming.

One young 5K runner, Thomas Rinker, took his “Strider” bike the whole way with his mom, Cherie. He gave a quick “thumb’s up” and a grin when he was asked how he liked the run. “Yes, we cruised the whole way,” said a smiling Cherie.

Participating for the third year in a row, Alan Snook said he had a lot of fun and Thursday’s cool weather was typical for the event, though it has been held on a Saturday morning the previous two years.

Coming from Cheyenne, Liberty Hoover was the first to come back to the finish line and won the largest frozen turkey of the event. “My sister lives here – that’s how I heard about [the 5K]. I came last year and had so much fun, I came back this year.”

Second place winner was Gavin May and Casey Murphy came in third.