The Optimist Club of Kutztown will be holding the 27th running of the Kutztown Fools Run on April Fools Day, April 1.
The Fools Run is one of Berks County’s oldest running events. Last year the Fools Run brought 400 runners to Kutztown from eight states and Germany. So far in 2017, there are two runners coming to Kutztown from California.
This year the Run will again begin at 9 a.m. on College Boulevard with the Concern Professional Services 10 mile run heading north out of town.
The Sally Miksiewicz Memorial 5K run will begin at 9:10 a.m. by going south to west Main Street and then through the North campus of Kutztown University and north to the Edge apartments before returning to College Boulevard.
Each run has 13 age groups from under 17 to 65+ for males and females with age group winners receiving gift certificates and medals for the top three finishers in each age group.
The Kutztown Bottling Works 2 mile walk is a non-competitive event and will follow the 5K run route ending outside of Saucony Cross along College Boulevard.
Another event within the events will be the School District Challenge. All 20 school districts in Berks have been invited to compete for a $500 check payable to a student of their choice. The Reading School District has won the last two events and this year will be going for a three-peat.
Proceeds from the Fools Run benefit high school seniors from Brandywine Heights, Fleetwood Area, Hamburg Area, and Kutztown Area School Districts that are planning to attend Kutztown University. In 2016, $10,000 in scholarship money was distributed through the Donald Peters Memorial Scholarship Fund. A special scholarship presentation will be held on May 17 to two seniors from each of the aforementioned schools along with one KU Football player.
The Optimist Club would like to encourage everyone to come out and cheer the many runners on as they meander through the countryside.
Pre-registration is still open until March 29 and can be done online by visiting pretzelcitysports.com. Shirts are also still available when registering but supplies are dwindling quickly. As that famous bargain retailer always says, “When they’re gone, they’re gone.”
For more information about the Kutztown Fools Run, visit www.kutztownfoolsrun.com.
