Registration is open for the Sunday, June 7 Celebrate West Hartford 5K Road Race and Kids Fun Run. Register by June 1 to avoid fee increases for the 5K.

From submitted releases

Rain or shine, more than 700 runners will be participating in the Celebrate West Hartford 5K road race, scheduled for Sunday, June 7, 2015, at 9:30 a.m.

The annual race is directed by the Hartford Track Club, sanctioned by the RRCA and certified by the SATF. The 5K course begins at Whole Foods Market (50 Raymond Road) and ends on Burr Street.

Now in its seventh year, the Kids Fun Run will take place on Sunday, June 7 at 8:30 a.m., with kids ages 10 and under dashing through Blue Back Square. According to the race coordinator Marisa Mascolo Halm, “The course measures about a half mile, and every finisher receives a medal for completing the course.”

Parents may accompany their young children in the Kids Fun Run if necessary, but most participants run the course on their own. Whole Foods Market has a special reception for the children in their parking lot after the Fun Run.

Online registration for both races is available at www.celebratewesthartford.com. The earlybird registration fee for the 5K is $25 if completed online by 11:59 p.m. on June 1, or for mailed entries postmarked by June 1. The fee is $30 after June 1.

The fee for the Kids Fun Run is $5.

The Celebrate West Hartford Road Race Committee held a contest for design of this year’s race shirt, and the winner’s design will appear on the free shirts that will be given to the first 800 5K registrants (requested size not guaranteed).

The winner of the contest will be revealed at the packet pick-up which begins on Friday, June 5, at 3 p.m., at Fleet Feet Sports, 1003 Farmington Ave. in West Hartford.

Pre-race packet pick-up runs through 6 p.m. on Friday, and is also available on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to noon at Fleet Feet. Registrations will also be accepted (cash or check only).

According to Road Race Committee Chairman Mike Alquist, “We encourage runners to take advantage of [the pre-race packet pick-up] option, as it will make race day morning run more efficiently for everyone involved.”

Registrations for all divisions will be accepted on Sunday morning from 8 to 9 a.m. at the registration tent (cash or check only) in the Whole Foods Market parking lot.

As a new service during Celebrate West Hartford, Doctors Express Urgent Care will set up and staff a cooling station for runners at the end of Sunday’s Road Race. It will be located around the corner from the finish line, on the lawn of the West Hartford Police Station on Raymond Road.

Runners can look forward to pre-chilled ice packs, coolers of ice, water bottles, camping chairs and fans for additional cooling.

The race is sponsored by gold sponsor Whole Foods Market; silver sponsors Fleet Feet Sports and Village Vitality; and bronze sponsors All Waste Inc., Bank of America, Hartford Hospital Rehabilitation Network, Select Physical Therapy, and the West Hartford Police Officers Association.

The 5K race offers competitive divisions for males and females ranging from ages 10 & under to over 70 and a wheelchair division. Non-competitive divisions are for walkers and runners, and for walkers or runners with baby joggers.

Prizes will be awarded immediately after the race in the Whole Foods Market parking lot.

A $100 gift certificate will go to the first place overall male and female winners. The first place winner overall will also receive the Sherman Malley Memorial trophy. The Fleet Feet Sports Trophy will go to the first place female. The Don Lloyd trophy will be awarded to the first place winner aged 65 and over. Gift certificates valued at $50 will go to the first place overall West Hartford male and West Hartford female runners. The top three finishers in each competitive division will be awarded gift certificates valued at $30, $25 and $20.

All registrants have a chance to win, however, because ten gift certificates valued at $25 or more will be awarded by random drawing.

Free parking for runners is available in the Isham Street Garage.

Proceeds from the race will benefit West Hartford’s Leisure Services Scholarship Fund, which subsidizes summer camp tuition, swimming lessons and other year-round recreational programs for children in need.

Questions? Call 860-561-7512 or contact [email protected]