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Wrightsville Beach
Friday, March 29, 2024

Racing for charity and pie

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Competitors flocked to Wrightsville Beach Park Saturday, Oct. 18 for the 16th annual Son Run 5K, a race around the John Nesbitt Loop to raise money for charity and earn a pie prize.

Tom Barber, one of the race directors, said the Wrightsville United Methodist Church decided to split the proceeds equally between three charities this year.

Barber said the race benefits the Centre for Redemption, an organization empowering victims of human trafficking; the Methodist Home for Children, which provides community-based services for children in need; and the Carousel Center, a nonprofit that helps abused or neglected children.

“We chose those three because we think they do good work,” Barber said. “They’re outstanding.”

Barber coordinated the 2014 Son Run along with his wife Kathleen and Cynthia Horgan. Although he had never organized a 5K before, Barber said everything on race day was going smoothly, despite having to adjust the course at the last minute due to a water-main break on Causeway Drive.

“We were able to change the whole course in 15 minutes because of the computerization that [race producer] Go-Time has,” Barber said. “Had we not had them here it would have been a real problem.”

Barber said they received incredible support from local sponsors and at least 40 percent more participants than the 2013 race, with this year’s runners totaling 130.

Moving the race from Azalea Festival weekend to October likely contributed to the increase in participation, Horgan said. Renewing the tradition of awarding an Apple Annie’s pie to the top finisher in each age group didn’t hurt, either.

“The young man who won it last year, the first thing he said was, ‘Bring back the pies!’” Horgan said, explaining how the tradition of sharing pies at the finish line originated.

“For years they gave everyone a fork wrapped in a sweat rag with a poem about this Christian lady who says, ‘When I die, bury a fork with me, because all the years that I’ve gone to church functions and when they clear off the main meal, they tell you to keep your fork because the best is yet to come,’ meaning dessert,” Horgan said. “So she wanted to be buried with a fork because she believed the best was yet to come.”

Horgan said they didn’t hand out forks this year, allowing the 20 age-group winners to take home their tasty prize.

In addition to the pies, the top overall male and female finishers, Dylan Skinner and Erin Hogston, also received $100 prize money, and every participant walked away with a t-shirt and a bag filled with merchandise and gift certificates.

With its delectable prizes and support for children’s charities, the Son Run traditionally draws entire families, like the Eckhardts, to participate in the event.

Nine-year-old Caleb Eckhardt raced alongside his sisters, Addie and Grace, during the fun run. The kids and their dad, Brent, stood by the finish line to cheer on mom Lisa as she ran in the 5K.

Lisa Eckhardt said she and her family entered the Son Run because it benefitted children’s charities and also encouraged children to participate by offering a fun run.

“There aren’t that many events like this,” she said. “I think it’s good for their confidence, to let them see if you work hard you can end up feeling proud of your accomplishments.”

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