A run in the sun

COEUR d’ALENE — The sun came out and the temperature rose into the 50s Sunday morning, creating a warm spring day for a Spring Dash.

"It was a great day," said first-place finisher Carl Combs, of Cheney, as he cooled off from his run. "You can't ask for better weather than this."

Nearly 1,000 people participated in the 34th annual Spring Dash, hosted by United Way of Kootenai County.

Combs ran the 5-mile course, which began and ended at McEuen Park in Coeur d'Alene, in just over 26 minutes.

Second-place finisher Jonathan Tevis of Coeur d'Alene said he tried to keep pace with Combs, but both men said the course had been a little confusing and they went the wrong way at one point, early in the run.

Mark Tucker, executive director of United Way, said in previous years the course had begun on Front Avenue, which was easier to follow and also created more room for the crowd to move from the start line. With the narrower path at McEuen Park, it took a few minutes for everyone to get going. He said they had to re-route a small portion of the course for construction as well.

But the slight delay did not dull the excitement for the runners and walkers of all ages.

"It's fun competing against these kids," Combs said, adding that he is 50 years old and has participated in the run for around 20 years.

Not all participants were Spring Dash veterans. About 10 women from the local performance group Blazen Divaz donned their signature "pink, fluff and bling" outfits to make the 5-mile trek.

"We are very excited," said Blazen Divaz member Mary Pettit of Post Falls. "We are going to be behind the runners and in front of the strollers."

She said the group is about 90 members strong and typically perform in parades and events, but this was the first year any members participated in the Spring Dash.

Tucker said the Spring Dash, sponsored by Kootenai Health and Bank of America, is a major fundraiser for United Way. The nonprofit organization is focused primarily on education, income and health, and the proceeds from the event help them to meet those needs throughout the community.

He said early childhood education is important to United Way, so they host a "Ready for Kindergarten" program and a book drive to "put books in the hands" of low-income children. Education in general is "cradled to career," he said, so continuing education is also important to help financial situations among adults.

"But there is a lot of existing programs in the community (for adult education), so we find our effort is better served in early childhood education where it needs it the most," Tucker said.

He said the effort of helping with income is fairly new for United Way, so much of the help provided covers basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing.

"Health is the one where we really try to make a connection with Spring Dash," Tucker said, adding that there is three parts to United Way's healthcare efforts. "Access to health care is a big piece of it, mental health is another one we are finding is a huge issue ... and then the third piece that is healthy living and being active, and that is where Spring Dash is a great connection."

The top three overall finishers of the race were Carl Combs, 50, with a time of 26:15; Jonathan Tevis, 35, with a time of 26:41; and Kyle Lampi, 29, with a time of 26:53.

Jennie Olson, 35, was the top female finisher with a time of 29:50, and 18-year-old Alex Kindsvogel was the wheelchair winner with a time of 01:29:18.

More Spring Dash 2016 results are available at: atltiming.com/results/2016/spring-dash.html