Firecracker race on the Fourth of July

Fourth of July races have been a regular part of the Carson City running community dating back to the 1980s and on Sunday the Firecracker 10-K, 2-mile run and 2-mile walk will be held at Riverview Park.

The event starts at 8 a.m. from Riverview Park. The courses will be set up primarily on trails within the park and on the Mexican Ditch Trail.

The entry fee is $25 ($90 family rate for two adults and two children of the same family). All registered race participants will receive a race shirt. Awards will be given to the top three finishers in each of the running age categories and to the top three men and women overall in the 2-mile walk. Proceeds from the event go to benefit American Legion Capitol Post No. 4 programs to support youth and community programs around the Carson City area.

Last year's race saw record-setting performances in the 10K by Mike Fretz and Mary Coordt - Fretz, of Reno, was the 10K overall winner for the second year in a row and broke his own record with a time of 34 minutes, 28 seconds, while Coordt, of Elk Grove, Calif., finished sixth overall in the race in a women's course record of 39:28. Both have impressive credentials in the sport, since Coordt has been a U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Trials qualifier; Fretz was a standout at Oklahoma State University in the early '90s and is entered in the Tahoe Rim Trail 50K scheduled for later this month.

There are other dates for local area runners to mark on their race calendars.

On Saturday, the 30th annual Ponderosa Ridge Run will be held starting at 10 a.m. from the Spooner Summit maintenance station on Highway 50. The run is a true mountain challenge - 9.5 miles across the mountain tops from Spooner Summit to Kingsbury. The course starts at an altitude of 7,300 feet and climbs nearly 2,000 feet in the first four miles. The run finishes at the trail head on North Benjamin Drive, located near Kingsbury Grade.

Also, nearly 200 runners have already registered for the fourth Tahoe Rim Trail 50-K/50-Mile Endurance Runs which will be held on Saturday, July 17, from Spooner Lake State Park. Presented by the Tahoe Mountain Milers and Carson City-based Sagebrush Stompers running clubs, the run will feature a variety of participants, from those who are trying their first ultra-distance race to some seasoned veterans.

The oldest entrant is Po Adams of Carmichael, Calif., who celebrated her 80th birthday on July 4. After running the inaugural Tahoe Rim Trail in 2001, Adams on Sept. 3 became the oldest woman in the world to summit Uhuru Peak on Kilimanjaro. And, by the way, she only began running at age 55.

Looking further ahead on the local running calendar, the Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled its annual Lunar Lunacy Fun Run for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, July 31, in Gardnerville. The 5-K and 10-K runs and 5-K walk all start and finish at Lampe Park. The entry fee is $20 ($23 after July 16), with proceeds going to the parks and recreation department's youth sponsored activities.

For more information, call the Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department at 782-9828.

The ninth annual Tahoe Trails & Tails 2-mile run/walk and 10K run will be held on Sunday, Aug. 29 at Spooner Lake State Park. Participants are encouraged to bring dogs (leashes are required) for the trail runs, which start at 9:30 a.m.