Community
‘Glowing’ With Health
Light Up The Corners returns for a 10th year of fun and fitness at The Forum.
Keeping fit doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be a fun group activity. To drive this point home, Light Up The Corners began a decade ago as a fundraiser for the Robert D. Fowler YMCA, but also as a way to celebrate fitness and fun. This year the night race will take place Saturday, August 12 at The Forum.
“Each year this race has grown. We’ve had more participants, volunteers, spectators each year,” said Amy Massey, race coordinator. “It’s a labor of love for myself and our volunteer committee. It’s a 501c3, but it’s run entirely by volunteers who love running and who love our community and love the YMCA.”
Massey served on the Fowler board for about 10 years. When her term expired, she was looking for ways to continue to raise money for the programs that she found so impactful and important for the kids, teens and families in the community.
The event is geared to raise funds for a specific campaign at the Fowler Y called “Why It Matters.” The entire YMCA structure in metro Atlanta awards more than 36,000 scholarships that give kids and families the opportunity to experience great programs and services.
“The YMCA provides hunger relief through the backpack program, water safety training so kids can learn to swim. And something that’s near and dear to my heart is the leadership and civic responsibility training that they do for teens,” Massey said.
“It takes Pinckneyville and Summerour teens and really creates leaders out of them. I’ve seen myself the impact that they’ve had when they come back around. They stay involved, they want to give back to the YMCA and pay it forward,” she added.
A running start
Massey said she got together with some of her running buddies, and they started the race. “The first year was a morning race and we had maybe 200 people or 150 people,” she explained. “We decided we wanted to try to do something different because in Atlanta on any given weekend, you’re competing with so many different 5Ks.”
So Light Up The Corners was born.
Organizers describe it as “a glowing, flashing, blinking, shining nighttime running party and fundraiser in one.” All proceeds from the event go to benefit less fortunate children and families in the community by giving them the chance to participate in life-enhancing programs and activities at the Fowler YMCA.
The first actual “glow run” at night was sponsored by The Forum, which was also the venue, and the City of Peachtree Corners came on board as a title sponsor. That was right around the time when Peachtree Corners was becoming a city.
And it really is a community event.
Glowing together
Light Up The Corners is actually two events — the 4 Mile Run and Twilight Trot, 1K (6/10 mile) that is a one-of-a-kind nighttime experience. It’s less about how fast you run or walk and more about much fun you have.
The course will be lined with blinking lights to illuminate the way and participants will be given glow sticks, a glow necklace and other glow bling to light up the course as they run and/or walk, according to the event website.
“The experience is just super fun and exciting,” said Massey. “We will have fire spinners, entertainers, jugglers, face painters, a professional DJ and food before and after the race. The Forum really puts on a fabulous event.”
She described it as kind of a dance party with anywhere from 20 to 35 sponsors promoting health, fitness and wellness.
There will also be contests for the “glowiest” men, women, boys, girls and teams. Participants are encouraged to strap on as much glowing bling as they can find and light up the course.
Massey encouraged everyone to experience the community spirit and family fun atmosphere.
“It is just so fun to see the community come together. People of all ages, all walks of life get together for a very family friendly health focused, exciting Peachtree Corners tradition,” she said.
And it’s for a fabulous cause, she stressed. “The focus this year is even more health and family focused. We’ve got a lot of schools participating and our goal is to get the greatest number of students out and running and participating.”