Josephine County is in need of awareness regarding their situation with the criminal justice system. Since 2012, Josephine County has had minimal funding for criminal justice operations, due to the loss of federal subsidies for former timber-producing counties and the failure to pass a local property tax levy to replace this revenue. One way the group Securing our Safety has tried to raise awareness is through the Run For The Law running event. Held on March 7th 2015 the run had over 289 finishers combined and was a great success in helping raise awareness.
Packet pickup was the day before the run at Club Northwest which included a nice reusable bag, shirt, coupons, and some other goodies from sponsors. Offering up a $1000 prize to the top male and female 10k runner brought out some of the top local runners. There was a kids run for those 12 and under before the event started, and all the kids received ribbons.
It was a great morning for a run with the sun shining and the temperature in the high 40s. I ran the 10k, and the course was fairly flat until about mile 4 with a tough uphill to the turn around. The great thing about a nice uphill stretch is the downhill after, and it helped me finish strong. There was a great volunteer presence with a few at each turn helping guide runners along with an aid station at around the halfway point for both distances. At the Start/Finish were some vendors along with a photo booth to take a photo strip home to remember the event.
The event was a great success and the cause is an important issue that Josephine County seriously needs help with. I’m looking forward to seeing what Securing our Safety does in the future with this run, and other events to help.