200 runners brave cold for 2018 MLK Day 5K Drum Run
About 200 runners and walkers braved below-freezing temperature this morning to take part in the 2018 MLK Day 5K Drum Run in downtown Birmingham.
Five drumlines gave the dedicated runners plenty of groovy beats to keep them entertained and motivated as they made their way through the Civil Rights District, historic Fourth Avenue District, Theater District, Loft District and Central Business District on the 3.1-mile route.
Participating were drumlines from Fairfield Preparatory High School, Jackson-Olin High School, Ramsay High School, Litchfield Middle School in Gadsden and the Freestyle All-Stars from Center Point.
Geoffrey Tum, a 32-year-old native of Kenya now living in Birmingham, won the 5K for the second year in a row, with a time of 16 minutes, 55 seconds. Ann Thomas, 34, of Mountain Brook was the top female runner, with a time of 19 minutes, 30 seconds.
More than 300 people pre-registered for the race, said Herman Mannings III, one of the founders of the event. The weather may have deterred some people from showing up.
“It was a little cold, but it’s all good,” Mannings said.
Seven organizations still were approved to receive money from the event, he said. If runners and walkers named themselves as being on one of those organizations’ teams, the group got $5 out of that runner’s registration fee, he said.
Beneficiary organizations this year were the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club, Alpha Kappy Alpha sorority, Black People Run, Bike & Swim, Growing Kings Inc. (a mentoring group), Team Red, White & Blue (a veterans’ organization), Black Girls Run! Birmingham (fighting obesity), and Living Legends.
Anita Westberry of Homewood said she braved the cold because she wanted to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and help the Growing Kings mentoring group. This was her first time to run this particular 5K and only her second 5K ever, she said. She finished in about 37 minutes, which is faster than she anticipated, she said.
One man who ran in the race dressed in a full Spiderman costume. His name is, appropriately, Darrell Webb. The 38-year-old from Bessemer said his son and daughter typically come to races to support him, but he let them stay home this morning because of the cold weather.
After today’s race, four of the drumlines met at the finish line at Kelly Ingram Park for a drumline showcase.
Mannings and his fellow organizer, Chip Owens, are putting on the Atlanta version of the MLK Day 5K Drum Run in Atlanta on Monday. They started the race there in 2012. Last year’s run in Atlanta drew about 2,900 people, Mannings said.
For more information about the Birmingham MLK Day 5K Drum Run, visit mlkday5kbham.com.