Solanco School District elementary and middle school students are invited to participate in this year's Kevin Regan Memorial Run.

The races will start on the junior varsity baseball field on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Solanco High School, 585 Solanco Road, Quarryville.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. with a quarter-mile race for kindergartners, followed by a quarter-mile race for first-graders at 9:10 a.m., a quarter-mile race for second-graders at 9:20 a.m., a half-mile race for third-graders at 9:30 a.m., a half-mile race for fourth-graders at 9:40 a.m., and a half-mile race for fifth-graders at 9:50 a.m. There will be an awards presentation at 10:05 a.m.

The 1-mile race for sixth-graders will be held at 10:25 a.m., followed by the 1-mile race for seventh-graders at 10:40 a.m. and the 1-mile race for eighth-graders at 10:55 a.m. The awards presentation will be held at 11:15 a.m. The top six finishers in each race will earn a trophy.

Registration forms can be accessed in advance and downloaded at www.solancoxc.org or picked up at the event.

Runners should arrive 20 minutes prior to the start of their race, pick up a course map from the event table and review it with a parent, return the maps to the table, and bring their signed permission slip to the starting line when their race is called.

Students who participate will receive a Golden Mule Gift Bag full of treats. "We have some community support. Dolce Vita, Oola Bowls, and Inside Track are providing family gift coupons," said Craig Ausel, who helps organize the event. "There are some fun things, some school pencils, and some wristbands. We're trying to make it like more of a carnival, a festival kind of thing. We're just trying to make a little more fun."

The Solanco High School varsity cross-country teams are working on a community service project and will collect items for the Solanco Neighborhood Ministries food bank. "We've been doing that since like 2014," said Ausel. "(Former Solanco runner) Liam Hodgson had the idea when he ran for me, and we've created a trophy that we give to the school that has the largest percentage of people donating from their school."

Race organizers will provide a traveling "School Participation Trophy" for the schools that have the largest percentage turnout based on school size. The middle schools will also be competing against each other for total points.  

"The Kevin Regan Memorial Run has been a long-standing event in the Solanco School District and community," said Ausel. "Since COVID, we have had some challenges building the event back to past participation levels."

Kevin Regan ran for legendary coach Art Harrington and died unexpectedly when he was in college. "At the time, the Solanco team had a high school invitational at Legion Park, and after Kevin passed away a few years later, they made it an elementary and middle school run and named it in honor of him," said Ausel. "His brother Tom and (Tom's wife, Barb,) still support the cause. We're just trying to keep it going and making this exciting as possible."