The half marathon, held in Florence on November 15 to raise money for Honor Flight Tri-State, saw $27,000 raised to help pay for WWII and Korea war veterans to visit their memorials in Washington, D.C.
Scott Spicher, founder of the Honor Run Half Marathon, was more than satisfied with the results of the inaugural event and a date to do it again has been set. According to Spicher, the race was sold out with 1,100 participants, and he thinks that number could be doubled for next year. Enlisting the services of poster printing services will no doubt help increase next year’s participation and proceeds.
Honor Flights started out providing free trips for World War II veterans to visit their war memorial, which was not completed until 2004. In time, the flights were opened to Korean War vets as well. This year’s proceeds will pay half the cost for a plane of veterans to make the trip to Washington.
Runners for Florence’s first half marathon started out from under the Florence Y’all water tower, proceeded around Florence Mall, past Turfway Park Race Course, behind the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and back to finish at the water tower.
Next year’s race will take place on the same date, which will fall on a Sunday. Organizers believe this will alleviate the handful of logistical problems that came up with this year’s Saturday race.
