Lions' Club hosts midnight race

MEDICAL LAKE – The chilly midnight air wasn't enough to keep a couple hundred area runners from filling the streets for the 44th Annual Only Fools Run at Midnight community fun run on April 2.

The event, sponsored by various local businesses and groups, started at the high school and ended at the Pizza Factory.

According to race organizer Kim Headrick creative thinking helped the group keep the event going through the COVID pandemic. This was the first time since that they were able to hold a full in person community run.

"We did it in 2020 in October as an all-virtual event, because we wanted to do everything we could to maintain the event's annual status," Headrick said. "This is the 44th annual, so we've been doing it for 44 years in Medical Lake."

Headrick explained that the race is also a fundraiser to support community programs that help with vision and hearing initiatives. The allocated funds can help people get glasses or hearing aids and even recycles glasses and aids people needing vision checks.

She also described how the Medical Lake Lions' Club builds scholarships for local students attending a nearby college.

"We do annual scholarships for Medical Lake students that are attending Spokane Community College," she said. "And we do that through the community college foundation."

Race organizer said the Lions' club boasts an incredible 300 community service hours per year, and that some of the local athletes were out volunteering for the event including the high school track and field team coached by Gene Blankenship.

"We're out here to simply help out and show our support for the program," Blankenship said.