Muncie community members can celebrate National Trails Day at the annual Cardinal Greenway 5K run and walk event, which is held the first Saturday of every June.
"We thought it was just a natural fit to use the Greenway for the event," Angel Silvers, administrative coordinator for the Greenway, said.
Now in its 15th year, National Trails Day is a celebration of trails that evolved from the 1987 report of President Ronald Reagan's President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. The report said all Americans should have a walking trail within a 15 minute walk from their house. The American Hiking Society started the holiday to increase awareness about community trails and provide help to volunteer trail clubs, according to the society's Web site.
"It's a great day to get all Americans, in all aspects of life, to get together within their own community," Ivan Levin, trails program manager of the American Hiking Society, said. "It started with just a few people launching National Trails Day. Now there are over 1,200 of the events going on."
The Cardinal Greenway event will feature a 5K competitive run and a non-competitive 5K walk, with registration from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Saturday and the event starting at 9 a.m.
First place winners in both the men's and women's divisions will receive a $100 gift certificate to Runner's Forum, a running accessory store in Carmel.
Runners will start and finish at the Historic Wysor Street Depot and run along the paved Cardinal Greenway, the White River Greenway and McCulloch Park. The event will not cover the newest addition to the trail or parts of the Greenway that are not yet paved.
"When the Cardinal Greenway is completed, it will be 60 miles, extending from Richmond to Marion," Silver said. "As of right now, we don't have an expected date for the trail to be finished."
Greenway employees are planning a marketing campaign to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the trail's September 1997 ground-breaking ceremony, Silver said.
"The Cardinal Greenway is used for recreational purposes and for several events, such as, of course, National Trails Day, biking, walking, bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons and several fund-raising groups use the trail," she said. Greenway users can also rent bikes for use on the trail.
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