MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- “No matter where you come from, you are valuable,” said Master Sgt. Cristian Martinez, 5th Medical Group Health Promotion flight chief.
Team Minot Airmen with the 5th MDG Health Promotion Flight organized the “You Matter” 5 km and 10 km Color Run at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, Aug. 20, 2019.
This was the seventh annual Color Run. This year, however, everyone wanted a hand in helping out. Agencies from across the base such as Minot AFB Homes, Task Force True North, Balfour Beatty Communities and others all played a part in eradicating hopelessness and telling Team Minot: “You Matter.”
“Our big focus is to make sure everyone know’s that they are important despite the mission,” said Martinez, a key organizer of the event.
The color theme for the event was chosen to support the ongoing mission and aim of saying: color doesn’t matter.
“It doesn’t matter what ethnicity you come from or background you have,” said Martinez.
The race kicked off at Bud Ebert Park at 3:45 p.m. Runners sprinted past the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance Center, wound through the security forces training site, darted past the 91st Missile Wing and finished at the park. Those running the 10 km continued through the course again to complete their run.
Helping agencies set up booths to welcome participants with snow cones and giveaways, regardless if they were running or not.
First to finish the 5 km run by the females was Sofia Anderson with a time of 27:29, and first by the males was Deven Garvin with a time of 22:04.
Whether they were finishing first or simply finishing the race, everyone’s goal there was to have fun and get colored with friends and family.