About 60 runners and walkers huffed, heaved and sweated their way through the seventh annual Kicks in the Sticks Trail Run on Saturday evening at Binder Park.
The run benefited the HALO Foundation and The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. Jamie Schwartze organized the event for the Jefferson City Rotaract Club. Schwartze said attendance decreased slightly in the event's seventh year because of increased competition from other organized runs in the area.
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Organizers still met their goal of giving $2,500 to both HALO and The Food Bank. Schwartze also said the Jefferson City Rotaract Club recently held a barbecue fundraiser for the nonprofits, which raised an additional $1,000 for each.
"We still had a great turnout," Schwartze said.
Runners - or walkers - had the option of traversing courses 1.2 miles long, 3.5 miles long or 7.5 miles long. Each option took runners through scenic stretches of Binder Park's mountain biking courses.
Danger lurked.
Runners had to watch out for slippery rocks and tree roots on the hilly course. Chris Korsmeyer finished among the first of the runners who ran the 3.5-mile course after about 30 minutes. Korsmeyer said the off-road course makes Kicks in the Sticks feel unique.
"It's a lot different than running on the road," he said. " It's a pretty mixed bag of uphill, downhill."
Minutes after Korsmeyer finished, Lisa Kemna laid in the dirt near the finish line while Kevin Kemna sat next to her and sipped a bottle of water. Outside the forest in which the trail sits, a cool breeze blew across the park's lake. Wind died under the forest's canopy, making the trail feel like a steam room.
Kevin Kemna said the relentless heat and humidity made running the 3.5-mile course harder than the four other times he ran the event.
"I couldn't swallow; I couldn't spit," he said.
After about an hour, Nathan Redcay became the first 7.5-miler to emerge from the forest. A few minutes later, he wiped sweat off his brow next to his daughter Kaylee, 12, and son Nick, 10, who ran the 3.5-mile course.
Redcay has ran a handful of 5K races in the past. He also previously ran the Boston Marathon. He thought the rocky course and hot conditions made for tough conditions for runners.
"It's nice to be in the shade, but at the same time, you lose the wind in there," Redcay said. "That's the tough part of an evening run is the heat."
Seven participants ran the 7.5-mile course with 22 participants running the 3.5-mile course and 32 walking.
Cristal Backer serves as a regional coordinator for The Food Bank. Backer said The Food Bank will use the money from the run to pay for its Buddy Pack Program. During the school year, The Food Bank serves Buddy Packs to about 7,500 students at more than 160 schools, including Cole County's 18 elementary and middle schools.
Buddy Packs give meals, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit cups, to children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. The packs cost about $15 per month per child, Backer said.
The HALO Home helps Transitional Living Program participants learn to cook their own meals, pay their own bills and take care of themselves independently. Schwartze said HALO typically uses the money to pay for general expenses.
Cathy and Jim Libey finished among the first of the walkers who jaunted around the 1.2-mile course around 30 minutes after the run began. The Libeys had their own strategy to deal with the heat: Stay in the shade.
"We saw the sun coming once, and we were a little concerned," Cathy Libey said.