Despite weather, hundreds turn out for charity event
By Jessica Groover .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
As they stood at the starting line near the barn at Frank Liske Park on Saturday morning, many of the hundreds of runners and walkers jumped up and down to stay warm as others with umbrellas surrounded them.
Despite the rain and cold weather, 246 people participated in the three races for Miles 4 Micah. The event was sponsored by Northwest Cabarrus High School and honored Micah Arrants, a student and track and cross-country runner who died in 2007 from a rare, blood clotting disorder.
At the event in his honor, there was a two-mile prediction walk/run at 9 a.m., a one-mile fun run for children 12 years old and under and a 5K race that attracted most of the participants. While some people came to participate in a 5K for exercise and to support a good cause, many participants and volunteers were there to honor Arrants and his family.
“There’s not too many local races that will have 300 people,” said Keith Rhoney, the cross-country coach at Northwest Cabarrus High School. “It says a lot about what people remember about Micah and how they feel about the Arrants family.”
Miles 4 Micah’s premiere was in March 2008, about four months after Arrants died.
“The school wanted to do something, but it took a while,” said Gail Smith-Arrants, Micah’s mother. “Coach Rhoney wanted to do a running event during the school year. That is the best time for the school.”
The school was represented in many ways at Miles 4 Micah, with students, teachers and parents parking cars, painting faces for runners and other attendees, or participating in the races.
“The school comes together for this program,” said Corrine Smith, a teacher at Northwest. “It’s something the school enjoys doing and looks forward to as an annual event.”
Besides the race, the event had raffles, face painting and a bake sale. All proceeds from the registration fees and the other events will go to the Micah Rhea Arrants Memorial Scholarship fund, which was established by his family and friends. The scholarship is awarded to a senior in high school who meets a certain grade point average and either a cross-country runner, an advanced art student, or an advanced environmental science student.
“Micah wanted to major in environmental science and was very good at art,” Smith-Arrants said. “He was taking AP art and AP environmental science.”
The scholarship will go toward a four-year college. Kem Noppakunkajorn, who was a friend and fellow track and cross-country runner with Arrants, was the first recipient of the scholarship in 2008. He is currently attending UNC, Charlotte, and studying engineering.
At Miles 4 Micah on Saturday, Noppakunkajorn was at the front of the starting line for the 5K race and one of the first to finish it. For him, it was a great way to reunite with friends and show his gratitude for receiving the scholarship.
“It is a true honor to be the first recipient,” Noppakunkajorn said. “It’s kind of like (Micah) is still helping me out, even though he’s no longer with me. He was always helping me. He was a true friend.”
Many of the participants and volunteers said they were surprised that so many people came to the race on a day with such bad weather. But those who knew Arrants were not too shocked.
“He really was a kid that got along with everybody at the school, the athletes, art students, musicians,” Smith-Arrants said. “He didn’t draw lines around his friends. He set an example for us.”
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