TAYLORSVILLE - Saturday morning, 80 runners gathered at South Carroll High School with one goal in mind: to make it to the cross.
Taylorsville United Methodist Church, along with the South Carroll Fellowship of Christian Athletes, held the Run to the Cross 5K, which took runners from South Carroll High School to Taylorsville United Methodist Church. When the runners reached the church, and the titular cross, they were greeted by a praise band, food, drink and an opportunity to worship.
The Rev. Sarah Dorrance, of Taylorsville United Methodist Church, said the idea of hosting a 5K came from a pastor friend, but the inspiration to hold it on Holy Saturday came while praying early one morning.
"You can't get to Easter without going through the cross," Dorrance said. "This is a way to remind ourselves of everything Jesus went through for us."
The 5K raised money for Imagine No Malaria, a campaign that provides malaria nets, education resources and treatment options for communities affected by the disease.
"It used to be every 30 seconds a child was killed by malaria, but now the rate is down to every 60 seconds," Dorrance said. "That's still horrible, but you can see the differences that are being made. It is preventable, and though it's a killer, it's not always, if you get the right medicine."
The event was attended by students of South Carroll High School and church members as well as people from the community.
Sandy Boone participated in the 5K along with her husband, Cole, and children, Austin and Rachel. She said it was a nice opportunity to participate in something as a family.
"I thought it was really nice to have right before Easter, to have an opportunity to think about the way Christ had to go toward the cross," Boone said. "That's what I was thinking about when I was running this. He had a much harder time at this than I did."
Two members of the South Carroll FCA, Justin Buck and Mac Rogers, scored the best times in the run, completing the 5K in just about 20 minutes. They said the course was particularly difficult, traversing some hilly terrain.
"We heard about it in our club at school, so we thought it would be good to come out and run with our community," Rogers said. "God gave us these talents, so it's up to us to use them."
Originally, the event was to raise money for both the Imagine No Malaria campaign and the FCA, but after the race, Dawn Pickett, FCA leader, told Dorrance to put all of the proceeds toward the malaria campaign.
Pickett said the FCA exists to support community efforts, so it is more in line with its mission to give the money away than to keep it for themselves.
