No spooks, just fun at T. Falls trail run

Last Saturday, The Thompson Falls community gathered at the NorthWestern Energy Power Park, to compete in the Trick or Treat Move Your Feet Fun Run. The event started off with the one-mile fun run, which was then followed by a 5k run. It was a picturesque fall day for the competitors; while the weather held out for the majority of the event, there was a little rain toward the end.

The event, hosted by the Thompson Falls Community Trails, raised a total of $1,718 with the help of contributing sponsors and registration fees. With 66 people running for a good cause, there were about 80 people present for the entire event. Proceeds for this fundraiser went toward annual maintenance of the local trails, weed spraying and signage; among any other repairs that are needed.

Kathy Conlin, a volunteer for the event, wanted the community to know one major environmental attribution that played a role in this fundraiser. "This is a zero-waste event. We encouraged all the participants to bring their own water container," Conlin stated. She also noted that all the barbecue utensils were paper products that would be burned at the end of the event.

Each participant received a Halloween themed fun run medal upon finishing the race, while the top 50 people who registered received a free pair of Halloween themed socks. All the participants were encouraged to dress up in Halloween costumes, with the prize of a huge pumpkin and a bag of caramels going to the funniest, most creative, and best group costumes. This year the best group costume went to Doug, Sara, Anna and Joseph Czerwinski of Thompson Falls, who dressed up as skeletons; the most creative costume went to Jeneese Baxter, who was Raggedy Ann; and the funniest costume was handed out to Ben Croft, who dressed up as a big, black, inflatable blob. Top female and male winners of the 5k race each received a pumpkin pie. This year's winners of the 5k race were Josey Neesvig for the first female finisher, and Justin Morgan for the first male finisher.

The fun run concluded with a free barbecue for everyone who came. The event was sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, NorthWestern Energy, First Security Bank, The Sanders County Ledger, Clark Fork Valley Hospital, Runner's Edge, Run Wild Missoula, Elliott Realty, Goertzen Dentistry, Harvest Foods and the Rimrock Lodge.