This will be the third annual Columbus Firecracker 5k held on July 4th as part of the Fabulous Fourth Festival that’s put on by the Town of Columbus.

The first year the course record was set by Stuart Moran of Asheville at 15:38 and the fastest female was Katie Gibson at 18:49.

The second year there was a visitor from Chicago, Ill. that ran the 5k course in 15:13.2. There are cash prizes offered to people who break the course records.

The individual entry fee is still remains the same (includes tee shirts, post race goodies and the prizes are made of pottery) but to make this race more family friendly, there will now be a full family fee.

There are some restrictions to this offer that can be found on the registration page on the race web site. For further information or to register online, go to www.firecracker5k.org or call 828-859-9979 for more information.

– article submitted by Ross Fox