JACKASS!
Runners Christy Miller, Dan Cox, Keri St John, Ian St John, Tara Lodi, Emily Harris-Shears, Monica Miller, Sarah Murphy, Sean Murphy, Tina Viche, Seth Gray and Lindsay Nelson pose for a photo at the finish line of the 2020 Jackass Half Marathon & 5K.
Photo by SARAH STILL
Participants Tara Lodi, Elizabeth Malsom, Elizabeth Whalen and Karen Enich make their way down the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes near Elizabeth Park.
Nick Fiacco and Myra Fiacco keep up the pace as they get closer to Kellogg.
Quite possibly the biggest and likely the only major event for 2020 in the Silver Valley was this past weekend as the Jackass Half Marathon and 5K took over the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.
When event organizers Kelton Enich and Scott Albrethsen initially set out to put on the race, they had hoped to have 60 people register — that number ballooned to 370 by September and registration had to be shut down.
That cap was an attempt to adhere to some semblance of social distancing, not because they couldn’t handle more runners, in fact, in the event that next year doesn’t have a full-fledged pandemic, they hope to accommodate as many runners as possible.
“The race went extremely well given that it was an inaugural event in a complicated year of COVID-19,” Enich said. “Overall, the event went very smoothly. Our runners were excited, our volunteers were so positive and enthusiastic, and we had some amazing local sponsoring businesses who we couldn’t have done this without.”
The race drew runners from all across the region, including Coeur d’Alene, Missoula and Spokane, but also included in the field were distance competitors from California and Georgia.
Enich and her crew of volunteers were more than up to the task of putting together an event that had its participants clamoring for more and included seven different aide stations along the 13.1-mile route, each station chose a special theme and dressed for the occasion.
The runners themselves were good sports who adhered to the event’s Covid Mitigation Plan that required them to follow rules like wearing a mask on the shuttle ride, during registration and following the race.
The volunteers themselves had a great time, including Shoshone News-Press Publisher Keri Alexander, who had the daunting task of motivating the runners during the most grueling part of the race through the uptown areas of Kellogg, spectators might have heard telling each runner that they were a Jackass runner and to keep on going.
“I’m honored to (have) been a part of this inaugural race for the Silver Valley Chamber, and I’m so proud of Kelton, Scott and the Jackass Half Marathon/5K Committee,” Alexander said. “The race was a huge success because of Kelton and Scott’s excellent leadership skills.”
Each runner got a custom T-shirt from Traveling T, a can of Jackass Mexican Lager from Radio Brewing and a handmade Jackass medal made by the Kellogg High School shop class.
“People were most stoked about the unique goodies they got at the finish line,” Enich said. “And of course, the weather and route along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes are just stunning.”
Runner Dan Cox was part of the team representing Prospect Fitness and he absolutely loved the event and took notice of the amount of support the event had, which already has him looking forward to the next one.
“It was an awesome event,” Cox said. “It was so cool seeing how many local volunteers they had cheering along the path. I think the event was extremely fun and I can’t wait until next year.”
Enich hopes that in 2021 things will have calmed down enough that restrictions and precautions are just fleeting thoughts and fond(ish) memories from her first foray into the world of full-scale community event planning.
“It will be so much more exciting to have a big crowd at the start line beginning at the same time,” Enich said. “We also plan to have the Radio Anniversary Block Party at the finish line next year with live music and vendors. It’s going to be so much bigger and better. We will not cap the registration numbers and hopefully get even more people to run. I imagine we could easily get 500 runners in 2021.”
Enich would like to extend huge shout outs to the Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Half Marathon Committee (Tara Lodi, Sarah Murphy, Mike Paul, Shayleen Jerome and Justin Cline) and Scott Albrethsen (Enich’s boyfriend) for coordinating all the volunteers and aid stations. To Brandon Hoxie and the KHS shop class for the amazing medals and Ashley at Radio Brewing for all the donated beer.
A special huge thanks to Local Real Estate and Verdis Engineering out of Coeur d’Alene for co-sponsoring this event.
“This was truly a unique event because our community was so ready and willing to step up in a time of being so isolated,” Enich said. “It was a huge boost of energy for the Silver Valley. Can’t wait for next year.”
