A large cohort set out on a short walk Sunday to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. The annual point .5K Brewery to Bathroom fundraiser challenged athletes to walk roughly a third of a mile on a course that features snacks.
Nearly 100 people gathered at the start line on a sunny Sunday morning in Soldotna.There’s a not-so-long trail ahead. Fortunately, a couch waited around the first bend for those needing a break. There was goldfish crackers available only a few steps past that. And donuts were offered at the halfway point. It’s the .5K Brewery to Bathroom, christened “the race for the rest of us.”
The annual run, now in its eighth year, is a sort-of parody of charity runs. The race benefits the American Cancer Society. The athletes started at Kenai River Brewing and followed a course roughly a third of a mile long, to the bathrooms at Soldotna Creek Park and back.
Since it started, the event has brought in over $40,000, organizer Alana Martin said this week. The event tackles a tough subject with a lighthearted tone. She said the race has built a dedicated following.
“My .5K people, we are the best little weirdos,” she said. “I love them so much and it just makes my heart happy that people show up.”
Ahead of the race’s start, Martin warmed up athletes with stretches inspired by the Presidential Fitness Test and offered her “Ode to the .5Kers”
“We come together once a year to slow down the pace, from the brewery to the bathroom our .5k race,” she rhymed. “Our goal is to cure cancer with a laugh and a smile, while braving the strenuous .31 mile.”
Along the path, a set of “demotivational” signs encouraged athletes to go slower and better embody the spirit of the event.
A few kids ran the route, but most of the participants meandered up and down the path. They took selfies on the couch. They collected snacks and water from a table run by the Kenai Watershed Forum. They picked up donuts from the Soldotna Lions Club. Then, they moseyed the short distance back to the start for door prizes and lunch. The slowest crossed the finish line in roughly thirty minutes.
Money raised comes from race registrations, donations and an auction. A special registration is available for people who want to stay home, the “couch to couch” route.
Johna Beech is a longtime American Cancer Society volunteer. She said the organization spends money raised locally on helping Alaskans fight cancer. That may include paying for travel and lodging for patients undergoing treatment. She said the annual walk has made a difference.
“Forty thousand dollars is a lot of help that wasn’t there without the money,” she said.
This year’s run featured a surprise: $2,400 from the Soldotna Elks Lodge, who showed up three-dozen strong in matching shirts. The Elks earned the race’s most prestigious — and only — award, named the “.5Kest” for best epitomizing the spirit of the event. Their prize is a wooden trophy shaped like a toilet that doubles as a toilet paper holder. Chad Sproul helms the local lodge. He said his lodge was excited to participate in the walk this year.
“It brings the community together for cancer research, lets everybody know that we’re still out here fighting the fight,” he said.
Sproul promised that the Elks would be back again next year with an even bigger donation.
