By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
The Kill Hill Challenge will be returning this year for its 2nd annual running on the morning of October 8 at the Moapa Valley High School soccer fields behind the school. The fun run begins at 8:00 am and is 1.5 miles, and the 5k follows at 8:30 am.
The Challenge is organized, as part of the school’s Homecoming Week activities, by the MVHS Cross Country teams. It is a team fundraiser but also a way to promote running in the community.
“This is our main fundraiser for the year,” said MVHS Girl’s Cross Country team coach Heather Humes. “It helps us with uniforms and buses and entry fees to invitationals. We are hoping that the race grows every year and, in 4-5 years, will be able to keep our program afloat.”
Fundraising is not the only goal of the race, however. Humes said that it is also a chance for the team to promote the sport of running while providing a venue for the community to come together and enjoy time outdoors.
“The race is just a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s a challenge, but it is something we really want people to look forward to from year to year. We want it to become a community event where people can have a great time.”
Last year was the inaugural year for the race and Humes was pleased with how it turned out. She said that there were over 70 entrants. This year organizers have upped their goal by 50.
The courses will be the same as last year. The fun run will take place on a relatively flat route . The more advanced 5k course will take runners on a personal challenge up and over the notorious “Kill Hill”, a large hill behind the school. Both races will feature a triumphant re-entry into the stadium at the end of the race.
One of the unique aspects of this race is that it features a “Team Challenge” component. A team consists of a group of 5-7 individuals who pool their times against other teams. The winning team with the best times will take home a $100 cash prize, with the 2nd place team winning $50. One of the other advantages of signing up as a team is that team members get a discount on their entry fee.
Those runners who choose to run the 5k by themselves are also eligible for prizes. The top two finishers in each age group will receive a medal, with the age breakdowns being 0-12, 12-15, 15-19, 20-29, and so on for every decade. No medals will be presented for the fun run.
Registration is currently ongoing and interested runners can sign up on active.com or during an in-person open registration after the MVHS Homecoming assembly.
There is an early registration discount that will be in effect until October 1. After that the registration fee will increase.
All registrants will receive a coveted “Kill Hill Challenge” shirt.
For more information, go to active.com and type “Kill Hill” in the search bar. Or contact Coach Humes at 702-280-2447, or Coach Gary Watkins by phone at 702-595-4242, or by email at gowatkins@interact.ccsd.net.
