On Friday night, a 4 mile race was held as part of the Kalida Pioneer days. Held in hot and humid weather, close to 300 runners finished the course but only 2 did with firefighting gear. Congratulations to Continental Volunteer Firemen Chris Baden and Damon Schmidt on suiting up to bring needed attention to the CVFD annual Toys for Tots campaign. Chris and Damon donned firefighting pants and jackets as they ran the 4 mile course that started at the high school and finished at the fire department. Chris and Damon were met with cheers as they crossed the finish line in just over 40 minutes.
This make the third race that Chris and Damon ran with the firefighting gear as they completed the Putnam County Racing Circuit to raise funds for the CVFD’s annual Toys for Tots drive. Other races, also held in hot and humid conditions, were the Columbus Grove St. Anthony Festival 5k and the Glandorf Turtle 5k. Runner of all three races received a nice long sleeve running shirt for their effort thanks to St. Ritas Health Partners. Its not too late to donate to the Toys for Tots campaign!
–Mike Jones, Sportswriter
