A very special Thanks to John Kelly who gave us a tour of the Sunset Hills neighborhood. He gave us the history of this beloved tradition, and even gave us rooftop access!
The above from 2017
GREENSBORO, N.C. —
The Running of the Balls, the annual fun run that sees thousands of people run through the Sunset Hills Neighborhood of Greensboro to raise money for the Second Harvest Food Bank is changing to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the Running of the Balls is a little bit different this year, the goal remains the same to help out the community.
As the glow of lights brighten up and bring holiday cheer the Running of the Balls, the annual 5K fun run, is adapting this year while continuing its fight against food insecurity.
“We are doing an imaginary one so folks can come out grab a shirt grab a bib and bells and they can run the race however they want to,” said organizer Nick Loflin.
Nick Loflin organized the run. He said in 2019 they raised about $81,000 for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.
He said normally about 5,000 people run or walk the 5K on the second Saturday of December under the lights in the Sunset Hills neighborhood of Greensboro. He said while the pandemic has brought some changes to this year's race, one thing that remains the same is that all the proceeds will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
“They have noticed a 300% increase in their demand for food you know 8 million families have fallen into poverty just in the past year alone and so we felt the crazy thing about it is the one year we couldn’t have the race was the year we needed to have the race the most,” said Loflin.
And helping those who need it most this year is exactly why many other people WXII 12 News spoke with are once again taking part, even though the race will look a lot different.
“It's not about the run its not about the lights its about giving the food and getting the food to the food bank Second Harvest,” said John Kelly.
“Mainly because the food stays in the local area it’s a good charity,” said Laura Mccollum.
Loflin said the event will be taking registrations up until Dec. 10and that folks can pick up their shirt and other goodies during a socially distant and mask wearing drive-thru. All in an effort to help those who need it most.
“This is an imaginary race that feeds very real people and that’s what the crazy thing about it is. I think that, that’s kind of the economy of God, these folks joy goes out and feeds folks,” he said.
See the video here: https://www.wxii12.com/article/greensboros-running-of-the-balls-continuing-to-combat-food-insecurity-during-covid-19-pandemic/34867125
Register here through December tenth. https://therunningoftheballs.com/