Kids, parades and fun: Rhody Run set today

PORT TOWNSEND — Thousands are expected to participate or watch today’s 2019 Jefferson Healthcare Rhody Run at Fort Worden State Park.

The run has two courses: a 12K (7.46 miles) and a 6K (3.7 miles). Both start and finish at 11 a.m. at the same point in Fort Worden, with the course covering a loop with views of mountains, woods and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Online registration has closed, but registration at the race start at Fort Worden can be paid until 10:30 a.m. today. Fees on the day of the race are $15 for those under 17, $25 for those 65 and older, $25 for active duty military with ID and $45 for adults.

The run is sanctioned by PAC Northwest and USATF (USA Track & Field). The course is USATF distance certified.

Water and portable toilets will be available at the 2.5-, 4-, and 6-mile marks. Aid stations are provided at at miles 4 and 6. Splits are given at every mile. Projected finish times are given at miles 4, 5, and 6.

Race results for each gender and in several age categories will be available within a few minutes of crossing the finish line.

Results also can be found online at e http://rhodyrun.com/.

The annual run, in existence for 41 years, is held on the final day of the Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival, which culminated in a Grand Parade and Cake Picnic on Saturday after the Kiddie Parade and Bed Races on Friday, the Pet Parade on Thursday and the Trike races on Wednesday and a four-day carnival..

Also today will be the second day of the Jim Caldwell Memorial Classic Rhody Festival Golf Tournament, now in its 25th year.

Shotgun start is at 9 a.m. today at the Port Townsend Golf Course, 1948 Blaine St. The entry fee is $35 for members and $45 for non-members.

For more about the Rhody Run, see http://rhodyrun.com/.

For more about the tournament, contact Rita Beebe at 360-531-3042 or call the golf course at 360-385-4547.

Members of the Twisters Gymnastics team in Chimacum do a routine on Lawrence Street during the 2019 Rhody Festival Kiddie Parade. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News)

Students of Firefly Preschool participated in the 2019 Rhody Kiddies Parade on Friday. About 500 children walked the parade route from Lawrence to Monroe to Water Streets, finishing up at Pope Marine Park. The parade was led by Rhody royalty and the George Earl Memorial Choo Choo operated by members of the Kiwanis Club. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News).

Adelia Ware, 3 1/2 years old, was a fireman in the Rhody Kiddie Parade. She is the granddaughter of a former Port Townsend assistant fire chief. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News)

Masquerading as an elephant for the Rhody Kiddie Parade, Leland Lammers, 5, of Port Townsend passed the time before before the Kiddie Parade began blowing bubbles. He was part of the Cedar Brook Early Learning Center entry. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News)

Chimacum Middle School band members Laine Martin, left, and Yeshiah Olson-Wailand, both in sixth grade, practice their alto saxophones just prior to the Rhody Kiddie Parade. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News)

Port Townsend’s Hazel Oley, almost 3 years old, practices her hula hoop skills at the start of the Rhody Kiddies Parade on Friday. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News)

The Chimacum Middle School Band brought music to the Rhody Kiddies parade Friday afternoon. (Jeannie McMacken/ Peninsula Daily News)

A number of bands and other organizations performed in the annual Rhododendron Festival parade Saturday in Port Townsend. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)