11th annual Brookgreen Garden Memorial Day 5K set for this weekend
MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WBTW) — Memorial Day weekend is almost here, and those looking for an active way to show support for veterans, the 11th annual Brookgreen Garden Memorial Day 5K is happening on Sunday.
A portion of registration fees will go to local nonprofit organization Blue Star Mothers of Coastal Carolina.
“It is definitely a scenic route,” said Dawn White, the race director for NS Promotions and Events.
Starting at the Lowcountry Zoo and winding through the gardens, for more than a decade, hundreds of participants lace up their running shoes to run in memory of fallen heroes.
“[It] gets them active, but also remember what this holiday is about,” White said.
The names of veterans who have died are on runners’ race bibs.
“They are doing it for something other than just themselves, they are doing it in memory of this person who gave their life,” White said.
White said this was something introduced last year by Blue Star Mothers of Coastal Carolina for participants to “have a veteran running with them.”
“When I heard the gun go off and the runners started running by me, I have to tell you every piece of hair on my body stood up as they ran by, because I felt that there was somebody else with us,” Blue Star President Carol Dion said. “It was an odd, eerie feeling.”
The race is set for 6 p.m. on Sunday, with packet pickup from 3-5 p.m. on Friday at Native Sons in Myrtle Beach and then again on Sunday an hour before the run near the start line.
Also included as a perk of the race is all participants receive a free entry back to visit Brookgreen Gardens at a later date. For those who can’t make it out this weekend, White has another race in line with Memorial Day.
“That one is June 1 and the title of that one is ‘Sweat for a vet 5K’,” she said. “That one is hosted by the American Legion Post 178 and it’s in Murrells Inlet. It’s going to start and finish right outside their post.
Proceeds raised from the race go toward Blue Star Mothers of Coastal Carolina and the Veterans Welcome Home and Resource Center.
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Adriana Cotero is News13’s weekend evening anchor and a morning reporter. She joined the team in July 2023 after working in the island of Guam. Adriana is from Saline, Michigan, and graduated from Central Michigan University. Follow Adriana on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram and read more of her work here.
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