- November 8, 2024
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Flagler County kids ran the first of a new Kids Trail Running series on Saturday, April 1.
The run was held at the Graham Swamp mountain bike trails for three different age groups: a less than .5 mile race for ages 3-5 years, 1.5 mile race for ages 6-9, and about 3 miles for ages 10-13. The Wild Boar Run was the first of three kids races that Elevate Events’s founder Carrie Meng wants to host.
Meng said she’s been wanting to hold a kids-only race series for a few years but kept having problems pinning down dates for all three races. Finally, she decided to just start with the Wild Boar Run first.
“I said, you know, I'll put on one for now, I'll just pick one day. I'll see if the community is responsive to it," Meng said. "I was like, I just got to do it."
The competition was a huge success for Meng. She said she initially only ordered 30 finisher medals, just hoping to get 30 registrants.
To her surprise, she quickly had to reorder more and more medals because of high demand, even accruing a waitlist at one point. In total, 70 kids signed up for the Wild Boar Run.
Meng's kids trail run series has two more races, with dates yet to be determined: a Deer Run at Princess Place Preserve and a Hare Run at Mala Compra Trails. Based on the success of the Wild Boar Run, Meng said at the race on April 1 that she hopes to plan the next one soon.
Every participant received a hand-crafted finisher medal. Meng also recognized the top three boy and girl finishers among each age group with a plaque.
In the 3-5 age group, the winners were: For the girls, Kinley Sterba, 4, in first place, Aria Rodgers, 3, in second, and Reegan Matuszczak, 4, in third; For the boys, Victor Contino, 5, took first, Grayson Matuszczak, 5, took second and Luke Osypian, 3, took third.
For the 6-9 age group, the winners were: For the girls, Ariana Gallagher, 9, in first, Evette Geroge, 8, in second and Evelyn George, 9, in third; Gavin Garrett Jr., 9, was first for the boys, Hunter Durrance, 8, was second and Leif Muchow, 8, was third.
In the 10-13 race: Kyleigh Davis, 10, took first place for the girls, with Alyssa Checho, 11, in second and Sera Morris, 12, in third; Brayden Murray, 11, was first place for the boys, Owen Stackpole, 13, was second and Lucas Barros, 13, was third.