BRATTLEBORO — A free Fun Run has been held every other Wednesday from May to September since 1990, organized by volunteers intent on sharing their passion for fun and fitness for the benefit of healthy community.
For 25 summers, whether the weather is hot and humid or cold and rainy, the Fun Run attracts youngsters and oldsters, runners and walkers, champion athletes and casual joggers, baby-joggers and families with kids (who like to see the horses and little lambs along the course) to toe the line for a 6:30 p.m. start.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, it happened for the 250th time.
Making the run happen most of those years are Gary and Christine Montgomery, community-minded folk from Chesterfield, N.H.
Gary got his start in running in 1991 when he ran his first Fun Run along Upper Dummerston Road, the event hosted by the local Red Clover Rover running club. He ran all 10 Fun Runs that summer - indeed, he's never missed on since.
His wife, Christine, was there to cheer him on. Eventually she began jogging as well.
In 1998, Gary and Christine took over organizing the summer Fun Runs. They always set their tent in the cornfield opposite the entrance to the Brattleboro Country Club to register the evening's runners for the 1-, 2-, and 3-mile options out and back on Upper Dummerston Road. (A 2.4-mile trail run option was added in 2012.)
In May, the corn stalks are little more than green shoots. By early September they tower above the pop-up tent. Regular participants also reap the benefits of showing up for a Wednesday evening jaunt - progressing from short runs to longer ones through the growing season, going farther or faster, and enjoying the high of good times and good health.
As the runners finish their Fun Run, most gather around the tent to chat with Christine and check their results with Gary. They bask in the alpenglow of the summer's eve and their exertion, enjoying the homemade cookies Gary always bakes, sharing sweet moments with neighbors and friends amid the cathedral of corn.
In recognition of their labor of love, their continuing commitment to healthy living and community, the Fit & Healthy Kids Coalition honors Gary and Christine Montgomery as their first Community Champions.
“We, as community, reap the benefits, in terms of living well and raising healthy children, from the seeds that Gary and Christine plant and the crops they tend each and every summer. It is only fitting that we acknowledge what they and the volunteers of the Red Clover Rover Running Club have done for us over the past 25 summers on this occasion of the 250th Fun Run in our community, free for all to enjoy and play,” reads a proclamation shared with The Commons.
The Fit & Healthy Kids Coalition (FHKC) of Windham County works to foster practices, programs, and policies that engage the community in raising fit and healthy children. FHKC invites all to join with them and our community's children “to play more and eat better.”