Page 15 - Dresden Buzz 07-12-24

JULY 12 - 25, 2024 LOCAL NEWS | PAGE 15
Over 130 Participants gather for second annual Freedom Run

by Lynette Dotson

Camden Wickerham from Nashport finished in 18th place overall, 17th out of all males who
by Matthew Dotson participated and third in his age group in the 5K Race. Lynette Dotson
The second annual Freedom Run people the ability to come together as
(5K Run and 1 Mile Walk) supporting a community to support one another so
Muskingum Behavioral Health (MBH) we thought that a 5k would be a good
was held early on Independence Day way to do that.”
at Collegial Woods Trail located on the 96 Men ran in the 5K Race. Danuel
Zane State College / Ohio University Persinger (21) of Corning was the first-
Zanesville campus. Over 130 people place finisher for the 5K race with a
participated raising money that sup- chip time of 16:43.1. Second place was
ports the mission of MBH, to provide clinched by Ann Arbor Michigan’s Clark
outstanding person-centered recovery Madden (17) clocking in at 17:31. With a
and wellness services to individuals and time of 18:56 and taking the third place Award winner Jerome LaBatte of Zanesville crossed the finish line in first place within his age group
our community. finish was Andrew Madden (43) also earning a chip time of 23:05 in the 5K Race. He also finished in 10th out of all males and in 10th
place overall.
“We started last year,” said Yolanda from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lynette Dotson
Taylor CEO of Muskingum Behavioral For the women, Molli Carter (24)
Health, “There is hardly any family that from Cambridge earned the top female
is not touched by addiction and mental finisher award and came in 15th overall
health of some sort in the area, with CO- with a time of 24:52.2. Following was
VID the two worst things that can hap- Tricia Rodgers (32) of Zanesville with
pen to someone with addiction or men- her time of 25:50.8 earning her a 20th
tal health issues is being isolated and place finish overall. In third for the wom-
not feeling that they are a part of some- en was Evonne Saunders (41) also from
thing. So as a fundraiser we wanted to Zanesville with a time of 27:24.2 and a
do something that would not only ben- 25th-place finish overall.
efit our clients as a community but also The youngest competitor was seven
put them back into the community, give and the oldest in the race was 73. Be-
them some confidence, and give other sides the 5K event, there was also a
more casual option for those wanting
to walk the course. The event allowed
people with children, strollers, and pets
to participate at a pace that was right
for them. The Fetch 1-mile was great for
walkers and those bringing their pets.
Virtual options were also available for
anyone who could not be there in per-
son.
“We have a therapy dog named
Fetch at MBH we have a clinical ser-
vice line, a recovery service line, and
a prevention service line and we do a
one-mile walk with Fetch he is our Chief
inspiration officer, we want the dogs
and your kids to be a part of the event,
therapy animals and animals in general
are good for people who have mental
health issues and addiction issues also,”
explained Taylor.
For information about Muskingum
Behavioral health visit their website
at muskingumbehavioralhealth.com.
You can also find them on Facebook at
facebook.com/MuskingumBehavioral-
Health.

Stefanie Terrill of Zanesville was one of the
participants in the 5K Race. FOLLOW THE BUZZ
Lynette Dotson
@DRESDENBUZZ