Fun Run!  Go Drive Run focuses on Fitness, Friends and Family

Written by Leigh Savage 

Whether your goal is to get a good time or have a good time, the Go Drive Run, set for July 10 in downtown Greenville, is the race to put on your calendar.

“The whole idea was to create something fun,” says Richard Osborne, publisher of Go and organizer of the race. “It can be enjoyed by people who want to hang out with their friends, meet more people or hang out with their families and kids.”

The certified 5K course starts at the Greenville Drive stadium, Flour Field, and follows a largely downhill course before finishing on the Swamp Rabbit Trail at Linky Stone Park. Participants can walk the few blocks up Main Street back to the stadium or catch a Drive shuttle bus, and then enjoy free admission to the game, a free hot dog or hamburger, discounts on drinks all night and a special seating block for race participants.

“We want to try to keep the runners together so they can hang out and talk with other folks who did the race,” Osborne says. “Running is such a social sport.”

Melanie Armstrong, who ran last year’s inaugural race and plans to sign up again this year, says combining a 5K with the baseball game made this one of her favorite running events in the area. “Not many races have an event after, where you can sit with friends and have a post-race beer,” she says. “It’s a fun night out overall.”

The kids’ race, held after the 5K and before the baseball game, is a highlight for participants and spectators. Designed for ages 3 to 10, the kids set off in age groups on a .2-mile jaunt around the Drive field, with an exciting finish at third base. All participants in the kids’ race receive a medal – a hit among young runners last year – as well as admission to the game, a free hot dog or hamburger and a drink.

Marsha Braga participated in last year’s Go Drive Run – her first 5K – with a group of fellow teachers from Mitchell Road Elementary School. She’s been a runner ever since and plans to participate again this year.

“I enjoyed the atmosphere,” she says. “We rode the shuttle back up to the game, which was a nice touch, and then we watched the game with our husbands and our kids.”

Braga has a six-year-old son, and he plans to try out the kids’ event this year.

“This race stood out for me because of the connection it made with kids,” she says. “It was such a family event, and it’s good for them to see their moms or dads exercising, because then it rubs off on them. These days, it’s so important to get the kids outside and moving.”

She and her friends gather several times a week to run. “For us, it’s a social time, and it’s great, because it’s hard to find the time to socialize,” Braga says. “It’s nice to be able to mix exercising and socializing.”

New this year is a certified course and chip timing thanks to sponsor Find Great People.

Osborne didn’t set out to create a fast course, but wanted to start at Fluor Field and knew that pre-game traffic would be a challenge toward the end of the race. He decided to develop a point-to-point course that finished on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and the result was a 3.1-mile course with the last two miles downhill.

Armstrong points out that it’s also an ideal course for beginning runners and walkers. “The course is scenic and very forgiving,” she says. “I’m encouraging all of my friends who walk to sign up this year.”

Mike deMaine, general manager of the Drive, came up with the idea of having Go Magazine Night, and then he and Osborne decided a race would be the perfect fit.  “The whole Go Magazine demographic is exciting and fun for us,” deMaine says. “It’s great to be able to tie a fun run into what we’re doing here at the Drive. We have a kids first philosophy and we’re excited about the opportunity to tie in physical fitness.”

The Drive is celebrating its fifth anniversary downtown, and deMaine says attendance is already topping last year’s numbers. Several special events are planned, including an all-star game later in the season, and he views the Go Drive Run as another event that gets people involved.

“We love that it gets people out to the park,” he says, “but mostly it’s an opportunity to celebrate fitness throughout the entire family.”