There are countless services offered at the Turlock Salvation Army, and an upcoming race will serve as a way for the community to help out and ensure those services continue.
The ninth annual Kettle Dash is hoping to raise $10,000 this year, according to Major Debi Shrum, offering runners of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to support their cause through a kids’ dash, 5K and 10K races, as well as a dog walk sponsored by Monte Vista Small Animal Hospital.
“With all of the health issues being brought up and people trying to get in shape, more people are running than ever before and it’s nice to do fun things like this every once in a while,” Shrum said. “We wanted to host it close to a day that represents fun, which is St. Patrick’s Day, and we expect people to dress up, be silly and just have a good time.”
The Kettle Dash is being held the day before St. Patrick’s Day, allowing people the chance to stay downtown after the race to eat and browse through shops, thanks to the race’s route.
The race will begin on Broadway in front of the Turlock Police Department, looping around the fairgrounds and Summerfaire Park, zooming past West Canal Drive and finishing up the final stretch down Park Street. This route will be run once for the 5K, while 10K runners will run the route twice.
The kids’ free fun run includes a 400-meter dash and the dog walk is one mile in length.
Since its start in 2011, Shrum said the public has supported the Kettle Dash in droves.
“This being my 40th year of officership with 16 of those years here in town, there’s just something really wonderful about the Turlock community,” she said. “In this community, if one of us is blessed with an abundance of things, we all share it with each other and provide a safety net where we can help people get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ together.”
Funds raised from the race will go toward not only “keeping the lights on,” Shrum said, but providing classes like Zumba, after school activities like basketball and karate, extra food and tutoring for students, among other services.
The Kettle Dash will take place on Saturday with registration and t-shirt pick up from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. To register before the race, visit Torre Reich Construction, 219 N. Broadway, today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit wwwe.kettledash.com.
