Bear Rocks Community Club hosting first 5K

The Bear Rocks Community Club will host its first 5K this month — an event Lori Rankin said she hopes will draw people together.

The Running Bear at the Rocks 5K at 9 a.m. Sept. 30 is a public event and will begin at the site of the community club, 161 Big Springs Road in Acme, and stretch into the local community. Presale 5K tickets are $25 until Sept. 1, when they will increase to $35.

“This is going to be our first attempt (at hosting a 5K),” said Rankin of Bear Rocks, who is the events coordinator for the club. “If it’s a hit, then we’ll make it (annual).”

Attendees are encouraged to bring items to donate to the food drive that will take place at the 5K, Rankin said. Items will be split between the Westmoreland and Fayette county food banks.

She said she’s hoping for about 100 or more people to attend, with the goal of “getting people active in the community again.”

Also at the 5K, there will be food, an auction and a DJ, as well as the opportunity to participate in a boot drive through the Bullskin Township Volunteer Fire Company.

Participants can register for the 5K online until the morning of the event, but only those who register by Sept. 15 will be guaranteed a T-shirt.

Though she’s not a member of the Bear Rocks Community Club, Selena Ohler has been instrumental as one of the main hosts of the upcoming 5K.

“I have actually hosted a 5K in the past, and I’ve been a runner for about 10 years now,” said Ohler of White.

She said it took a team to put the event together, but she said “it’s turning out to be a great event,” complete with lots of sponsorships.

The 5K encouraged many people to “step up and donate,” Ohler said, including a bounce house for kids and sponsorship for the entire Connellsville Area School District track team to participate.

“We’ve planned not only a 5K, but a fun event for families to come out to,” Ohler said. “I’m hoping that it brings the community together more.”