Fourth of July 5k | Video

Jacob Kaucher | 7/3/2010

With the blast of a whistle the first ever Star City Fourth of July 5k is off and running.

And although the fireworks will have to wait until tonight...the runners at this event sure are providing an explosive start to the holiday.

"It builds excitement, it gets the adrenaline going and sets the tone for the rest of the weekend,” runner Reier Thompson says.

"It was a great kick off to the Velva 4th of July,” Co-organizer Maria Effertz Hanson says.

The run and walk starts at the Velva football field and track and winds its way through the city...showing off the best Velva has to offer.

In all more than 100 people will participate in the inaugural event.

“That`s that many people who have decided to come to Velva North Dakota to see the town, participate in the activity and just kind of enjoy what we have,” Hanson says.

“It`s a small community, but they do a good job of opening themselves up to the rest of the world,” Thompson says.

And opening Velva organizers say is one of the reasons they take their fourth of July celebrations including today`s run and walk so seriously.

“We have a lot of rural communities who have a lot to offer. And here`s a chance to showcase a piece of Velva and a little piece of North Dakota outside of the city,” Hanson says.

It`s an outside the box holiday activity they hope continues for many years to come.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY