COLRAIN — An event that hasn’t taken place since before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic will raise funds for a class trip for fifth and sixth grade students at Colrain Central School.
The event is the Colrain Central School Foundry 5K and Fun Run, with the money raised from runner registration helping send the oldest Colrain Central students to Outdoor Classroom’s Cape Cod location. The trip will give students an opportunity to interact with an environment and wildlife unlike their own in Franklin County.
Starting at the Town Offices at 55 Main Road, those participating will have the option of a competitive 5K or a 0.7 Fun Run/Walk. Registration for the 5K costs $30, while the fun run costs $20 and $10 for children ages 16 or younger. The race starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, and all registration fees go directly toward covering the cost of the trip.
“It’s been a tradition at our school for many, many years for the fifth and sixth graders to do some sort of a class trip together,” said Rachel Glick, a special education teacher at Colrain Central and the lead organizer for the fundraiser. “So, we’ve been fundraising annually for kids to go somewhere, and this year, they’re going to Outdoor Classroom.”
Glick is spearheading the event, and it’s the first time that she’s organized the 5K and Fun Run. A runner herself, she says they hope residents from across Franklin County come for the race to experience the natural beauty of Colrain in the fall. So far, 20 people have registered, with Glick saying that several more have told her that they plan to be in attendance.
She added that a personal connection to the fundraiser made her want to step into an organizing role for this event.
“COVID kind of put a damper on things, and it just fell away,” Glick said, noting that the last time the race was held was in 2019. “We decided that since we have been doing Girls on the Run as a program at our school for a couple of years now, that it would make sense to bring back the Foundry 5K. … I happen to be a teacher here but I also have a child of my own who’s in fifth grade, I love to run and I know a lot of people who are runners.”
While Glick says that there are other outdoor learning opportunities for the Colrain Central fifth and sixth grade classes closer to Franklin County, giving students an opportunity to experience an environment they might not be too familiar with is important for their understanding and development.
The field trip will send students to Woods Hole on Cape Cod, with Glick saying the environment in the eastern-most part of the state is completely different to what the children see every day in Franklin County.
“What we’re looking for is an opportunity for the kids that live in the towns of Colrain and Heath to go someplace that’s really outside of their usual zone,” Glick said. “There are some … locations that are a little closer to where we live, but we feel like going out to the Cape and doing things that have to do with marine biology and the different landscapes of the Cape is really an important experience for them.”
Even though the 5K will be timed and is a race at heart, Glick emphasized that it’s entirely up to the participants whether they want to run or walk for both the 5K and the Fun Run. She hopes the event will become a yearly fundraiser for Colrain Central.
“Both events are great ways to support our school,” Glick said. “I’m really excited about this event coming back. … It used to be a pretty well-attended 5K, and I’m hoping that people will come back out and we can make this an annual event.”
To register for the 5K or the fun run, visit runreg.com/13737.
