Taking full advantage of long, beautiful days, this is the third outdoor event in the summer of full moons. This evening’s activity is payback for all the volunteers that make it possible for me to run races .

Under tonight’s Sturgeon Moon, I am one of the volunteers, spectators, and cheerleaders.

HARRC in the Dark is a 7K race held at 7 p.m., maybe not actually dark but a beautiful sunset at dusk played with colors along the Susquehanna. And, when we finished with awards at the Federal Taphouse it was dark.

Organized by the Harrisburg Area Road Runners Club (HARRC), this 7K has become a staple of summer evening running and socializing. I joined other volunteers from Open Stage of Harrisburg and HARRC at the registration table.

The race start and finish are on our linear Riverfront Park with the Susquehanna River along the path

and historic buildings across the street.

A smallish race with around 200 runners, participants run the gamut from elites to beginners and ages from under 12’s to 80+. 

Temperatures finally fell out of the 90’s for our race but the humidity still made runners work to get to the finish, conditions as we could expect for a late summer evening. Among old friends and new acquaintances, we ignore that humidity to spend time cheering one another on.

I encourage anyone who races a few local races a year to become more involved with your running community. Take a break from running a race to volunteer. You will learn the working of how a race is put together and likely make some stronger friendships in the process.

The race is run, awards are distributed and volunteers have packed up.

Good night, Sturgeon Moon. No fishing for me tonight, but you did light my way home.

(If you are interested in a bit more about the naming of that Sturgeon Moon hanging in our night sky, I found some interesting background over at cherokeebillie.)