Van Horn Cadets Team With Elementary School Runners to Prepare for 5K Race

With encouragement and coaching from Van Horn JROTC cadets, nearly 30 fourth- and fifth-grade runners from Fairmount Elementary completed a practice 5K in preparation for a sanctioned 5K run in May. Cadets have been working with Fairmount students for the past several weeks, preparing the boys for the Independence Park Run Saturday, May 2 and the girls for the Corporate Woods Run Sunday, May 17 in Overland Park.

Thanks to five soldiers from the Missouri Army National Guard, the practice race on the Van Horn track had a very special beginning and end. “The soldiers brought two M777 howitzers to create an arch of steel to mark the start and finish line for the race,” said Lt. Col. Michael Byrd, Van Horn’s senior JROTC instructor. “Runners were thrilled by the added surprise attraction of the soldiers and equipment.”

Each participant in the practice race received a certificate of completion, spirit beads and a race medal. Byrd thanked everyone involved including the adult facilitators from Fairmount Elementary and the student runners and coaches. “The event was a huge success, thanks to the efforts of many including cadet staff and cadet volunteers,” he said.