Keeley Meier, Brandon Valley Journal
Grab your furry, four-legged family members and head to Aspen Park on Sunday, May 2 for the fourth annual Miles for Mutts 5K & Family Dog Walk.
The race will begin at 9 a.m. and registration gets underway at 8 a.m.
In past years, the race has utilized the Brandon Valley High School’s track, but this year, the race will begin and end at Aspen Park.
Participants will start at Aspen Park. The course continues east on Aspen Boulevard, turns left at Splitrock Boulevard at Holly Boulevard, and then treks south on Sioux Boulevard to Aspen Boulevard before ending at Aspen Park.
This will mean fewer street and intersection crossings for racers, but volunteers will continue to be stationed along the course to direct them.
The event is jointly sponsored by Anytime Fitness and B Squad Dog Rescue, and all proceeds will go to B Squad.
B Squad Dog Rescue has saved over 9,500 dogs since 2014. The rescue is run 100 percent by volunteers and is funded entirely through donations. The dogs at B Squad come from anywhere and everywhere—commercial breeders, hoarding situations, high-kill shelters and the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations.
Jayme Smid, who owns Anytime Fitness, and her husband are one of the foster families for B Squad. This is where they got their dog, Jax, whom they adopted from B Squad in 2016.
“Foster families are a crucial part of their rescue, and it was an awesome way to support B Squad with their work,” Smid said. “However, typically these dogs have medical bills and things that come up and so the rescue always needs financial support, too. I wanted to find a way that I could help with this and from there, Miles for Mutts was born.”
There are currently 200 participants registered for the 5K and several local businesses providing sponsorships.
Participants can race in person or virtually. Those participating in person will run the race on the event day while practicing social distancing. For those wishing to participate virtually, they can run the race any time before the event date and post a picture on Facebook with the hashtag #MilesforMutts2021.
“It’s extremely rewarding to see the event come together the day of, as it is months of time spent planning and organizing,” Smid said. “It’s awesome to step back the morning of, take it all in and know that with the help of local businesses and participant support we are making a big difference.”
Smid says her favorite part of the event is watching all of the walkers and runners come out with their dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes to support B Squad.
All participating pups must be well behaved, vaccinated and kept on a non-retractable leash at all times. Participants must clean up any waste, and each dog must have an adult with them at all times.
This year’s fundraising goal was $10,000—which they’ve already surpassed.
To register for the 5K, visit https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/milesformutts2021.
