Aaron and Jeannie Runyon stole the show at the first ever Run for Water 5K in Pace on Saturday. The Runyon's took the top male and female honors in the run, which got underway at 7:30 a.m. at Pace Community Church. Over 180 participants turned out for the run which was organized by three Pace High School students – Austin Hardcastle, Tyler Brabham, and Jayson Carter. According to Rick Hardcastle, who is a member of the Pea Ridge Running Club, the run was inspired due to a trip Austin and he took to Haiti shortly after the earthquake. They went with a medical team to help treat orthopedic injuries, but ended up treating patients with malaria, dysentery, and other diseases/illnesses due to a shortage of clean water. Austin, who was 14 at the time of his trip, later learned about a group called Living Water International, who has a mission of digging wells in underdeveloped countries. Despite being too young to help the organization, Austin Hardcastle decided to organize a run to see if they could help raise the funds to dig a well for the people in Haiti. With the help of some friends as well as the Pea Ridge Running Club, Milton Rotary, and other sponsors his dream of a well for the people of Haiti got off to a running start on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Runyon's sweep Run for Water