Harvest Festival Run for Charity

Determined runners will hit the road in Ishpeming tomorrow, rain, snow or shine, to raise money for area youth programs.

It’s the Harvest Festival half-marathon and five-kilometer run.

Half of the proceeds go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Marquette and Alger Counties.

The other half goes to the Bell Foundation for the Strength From Within Youth Fitness Challenge.

Former NMU basketball player Ryan Reichel is a phys ed teacher at Aspen Ridge School in Ishpeming Township.

He’s taking part in the 5K run, and he says Strength From Within is a great program for the kids he teaches.

He says it does a great deal to educate them about exercise, food choices and general fitness — it’s entering its third year and is once again offering a free year of tuition at NMU to one of the middle schoolers taking part in it.

Both races start at Lake Bancroft in Ishpeming.

The half-marathon starts at 9 am tomorrow, and the 5K starts at 11 am.

The races are part of the Bell Hospital Harvest Festival, which takes place from noon until 6 tomorrow.

Other than the races, the festival events are all taking place at the hospital.