St. Paddy's Race is almost upon us

It's March, which in the Smelter City means it's the start of St. Paddy's Season – and the first big event of the season is right around the corner, with the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) St. Paddy's Day Race set for Saturday, March 9 at 11 a.m. sharp. 

The race begins at the AOH Hall at the corner of Cherry Street and East Commercial Avenue. As of the time of this writing on Thursday evening, more than 300 people have signed up for the 3- or 6-mile race, which doubles as a fundraiser for the AOH to give back to the community – in particular their scholarship fund and their food drive for the Project Care Food Bank, with monetary donations as well as non-perishable food times are collected both leading up the race and on race day. 

While the vast majority of runners currently signed up are from Montana – many from the Anaconda and Butte area – signups also include participants from Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Illinois and South Carolina.

Much like last year, the race will start at the AOH Hall, with participants in the 3-mile run/walk turning right onto East Front Street, left on North Cedar Street, left on Copper Sands Road, continuing on to the west end of Washoe Park before making the loop back eastbound on West Pennsylvania Avenue, turning right onto Main Street and back onto Front Street, completing the loop where they started on Cherry Street.

For the 6-mile it's a left onto East Front Street, right on Main Street, left on Pennsylvania Avenue and then continue on past Washoe Park onto the Ogden Alley, then bearing onto Cable Road where it's straight on until nearly the turnoff for Montana Zipline Adventures, then back down to where they started.

For more information or to sign up or donate, visit https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Anaconda/AOHStPatsRace. And be sure to watch the weather reports for the conditions prior to the race.