The Collinsville Park Association will add a new event to this year’s Pioneer Day festivities with its inaugural Wacky Dacky Ducky Dash on Saturday, Sept. 19.
The event will feature a 5K run and walk through Collinsville, along with a one-mile fun run for children. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. between Collinsville City Hall and the police station, with the 5K starting at 8:30 a.m.
Park Association President Vicky Norvell said the event is designed to be more than a traditional road race, with an emphasis on getting families and community members involved.
“It’s community fun,” Norvell said.
Adding to the theme, organizers will hide rubber ducks along the 5K route for participants to find and collect.
Walkers, in particular, will have an opportunity to search for the ducks as they make their way through the course.
Participants can keep the ducks they find, and a prize will be awarded to the person who collects the most.
The 5K will begin near City Hall and travel to Joggers Trail before looping toward Old Town Road. Participants will then travel along Murdock Street and Main Street before finishing near Cloud 29.
A one-mile children’s fun run is also planned following the 5K.
According to Norvell, the shorter race will be held in a more confined area rather than following the full course through town.
Registration is $25 for adults and $10 for children ages 5 and older. Each registered participant will receive an event T-shirt.
Pre-registration is available through Sept. 7 through a Google form posted on the Collinsville Park Association’s Facebook page.
Participants may still register after the deadline, but Norvell said shirts will have to be ordered because the association does not plan to have extras available.
The idea for the event came after Norvell saw other communities finding creative ways to put their own spin on traditional fun runs.
After launching the Park Association’s Facebook page last year, Norvell said she began seeing events in other communities that incorporated animals and other themes.
One community’s duck adoption event provided some of the inspiration for Collinsville’s version.
The Park Association combined the duck theme with a community fun run, creating the Wacky Dacky Ducky Dash.
The event is being held the morning of Collinsville’s annual Pioneer Day celebration. Winners from the Ducky Dash are expected to be recognized during Pioneer Day activities later that day.
Norvell said the overall goal is to provide another way for residents of all ages to get involved in the community — whether they want to race the 5K, walk it with family and friends or simply see how many ducks they can find along the way.
