Photo courtesy of Suman Silwal, mruns.com
A runner crosses the finish line during the 23rd annual Meadow Brook Runs 5K and Fun Run on Dec. 16, 2017, at Meadow Brook Corporate Park.
The 24th annual Meadow Brook Runs 5K and Fun Run, which raise money for the nonprofit Jesus Video Project of Alabama, will be Saturday, Dec. 15, at Meadow Brook Corporate Park.
The event has become a holiday season tradition for some families, according to Bob Cosby, race director and CEO of the JVPOA.
“I work on it as a Christmas party for friends and potential friends, with two running events, food, prizes and gifts,” Cosby said.
The 5K, a chip-timed event, begins at 9 a.m. The 1-mile fun run begins at 10 a.m. An awards ceremony and prize drawings will be at 10:30 a.m.
Runners receive Christmas T-shirts and gift bags and enjoy what the event website calls “the most beautiful course” in Birmingham.
“The course goes around two pretty Daniel Corporation lakes,” Cosby said.
There also will be numerous food vendors on-site. Walkers and pets on leashes are welcome at the event, which drew about 250 participants in 2017, Cosby said.
The event has 180 sponsors. They include Valley National Bank, formerly USAmeriBank, the lead sponsor for 22 years, according to Cosby. The race begins at the bank’s Meadow Brook Branch.
The event is a fundraiser, but that’s a secondary purpose, according to Cosby. The runs have “always been primarily a Christian outreach to the running community,” he said.
There’s also a patriotic theme honoring veterans and first responders at the event, according to Cosby. Participants are asked to make voluntary tax-deductible donations to the JVPOA in the range of $15-25.
To register, call 991-6054 or go to meadowbrookruns.org.
