AVL's Runway 5k

It’s one thing to plan a massive, precedent-demolishing event for eight months and then watch it unfold before your eyes as members of our very own Western North Carolina community descend upon the airport by the hundreds to take part in our very first Runway 5k + Healthy Fun Day. It’s another thing altogether to see it from someone else’s perspective—that of a runner, child, or aerial photographer, for example. If you were here last Saturday to help us celebrate our 50^th year by running on the runway, enjoying food from Tupelo Honey, Frankie Bones, or our own Blue Ridge Tavern, or perhaps by kicking back and enjoying the music played so well by local bluegrass band High Windy—despite the numbing cold—you probably have your own take on what was great, what could have been better (the weather, for example!), and what was just plane unique (pun intended). And if you didn’t brave the cold last weekend, this post will give you a little taste of what went down (which, ironically, is a phrase we tend to avoid in the aviation industry). Photos are plastered all over our Facebook page, so you can get a good feel for things there, but here’s a real treat: images from the sky of the hundreds of runners that converged on the airport’s runway for a historic run. (Click on the photos to see larger versions.) [caption id="attachment_220" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Aerial photos by aerialphotopros.com "][/caption]

You can’t beat an aerial view for an event like this. After the race (which was won by Arden resident Scott Laws with a time of 18:39) parents and children alike filled hangar #7 to take part in the Healthy Fun Day portion of the event. Our event partner, Mission Health, went above and beyond to make health education fun and easy for all who attended, even dispatching MAMA, their emergency services helicopter, to the site so kids of all ages could get up close and personal with one of our region’s most recognizable aircraft. One of the activities for kids was a scavenger hunt, in which children were tasked with finding objects or activities at the event that started with each of the letters in the words “Healthy Fun.” Take a look at these always adorable, sometimes touching, and often hilarious things kids see at an event like this:

Happy faces is certainly a good sign, and clearly something that stands out to a child.

While we have received calls about unidentified flying objects at or around the airport, we can’t say that we’ve ever seen a unicorn. We are ready to offer this child a job in our creative department, though—imagination is a beautiful thing!

This one, for the record, says “ugly color pink.” We admit there was a lot of pink, but for a good cause! The event benefited Ladies Night Out and breast cancer awareness, in honor of Pink October.

This one doesn’t need a caption, but it just makes us want to say thanks to all of our military service members, past and present.

If you were ever a child, you know the importance of getting something for free. Heck, many of us STILL love getting things for free even though we’ve outgrown the ability to imagine unicorns at a party. We saw kids and adults alike walk out with everything from yo-yos and Frisbees, to a wad of cash (courtesy of Mix 96.5) and work-out towels. Free things are definitely deserving of an exclamation point.

Some children are born to be efficient. Why waste precious time looking around for a plethora of items when you could finish this little project with a few adjectives? “Awesome plane, little plane, truck, huge truck, yellow truck, flying plane, ugly truck, new truck.” DONE. Does this one remind anyone else of the wonderful Dr. Seuss?

One polite young ‘un took the time to underline “Nice people” somewhere between four and twenty times. And it’s true—we met an awful lot of nice people on Saturday. We’re glad so many of you were here to have a good time with us, and thanks to ALL of you, we have much to celebrate!