Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / Pavel1964
The 2017 Selah Base Race (www.selahbaserace.com) was supposed to be the biggest in its six-year history. I spent two years rebranding the race after I took over as parks and recreation director. This meant creating a new logo, website, and marketing plan as well as cultivating relationships with corporate sponsors; all in all, it was an enormous amount of logistical work. After seeing 402 runners participate in the 2016 race—the most ever—I knew the race could continue to grow because the community was supporting it.
The main reason behind coordinating the race is to donate money to The Soldiers Project, which provides free mental-health counseling to post-9/11 veterans. Selah is located in Yakima County, Wash., which is home to thousands of veterans, and I knew our community was supporting the charity based on the daily conversations I was having with residents. The benefits of the race are twofold:
1. It provides an avenue for local military members at the Yakima Training Center to get together with the community. 2. It is an opportunity for residents to wrap their arms around the military community and express their gratitude for the constant sacrifice.