By Karen Hall

Editor

Cornersville Elementary students are well out in front in the county-wide program called Read Run Repay, for the second year in a row.

Students were challenged to read 13 books, walk or run 13 miles, and do 13 good deeds between the start of the school year and now.

Wednesday, 137 CVES students ran a 1K race to celebrate completing the program. Cheered on by Dr. Denise Werner of Marshall Medical Center and Coordinated School Health Director Deborah Wade, the children started off by grade level and enthusiastically ran the L-shaped course, ending back where they started.

Everyone received a medal on a ribbon, and posed for a group picture.

"Did you have fun?" asked Werner, and the response was a loudly screamed, "Yes."

Then the names of seven lucky students who won bean-bag chairs donated by Comfort Research were drawn. Werner said everyone was getting a coupon for a local restaurant, too.

"They were blessed with this day," said Wade, referring to the warm, dry weather.

At 8 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 7, the second annual Read Run Repay 5K run will be held in Rock Creek Park as a fundraiser for the program. Werner said she had about 40 people signed up so far, and hopes the weather will cooperate. If it does not, the run will probably be moved to Saturday, Dec. 14.

The money raised will be returned to the participating elementary schools for books and playground equipment, in proportion to the number of students participating. The other elementary schools have less than 60 students each in the program, so it looks like Cornersville Elementary will get the lion's -- or bulldog's -- share of the money.

Other schools will hold their 1K runs between now and the last day of school on Dec. 19.