Asheville Idiotarod 5k

Posted by:

Eric Seeger, Editor

photo gallery :

Asheville Idiotarod 2009

More than 40 teams braved the cold, wet weather on Sunday morning dressed as anything from the Gorton’s Fishermen to the five most famous workout video women in pop-culture history (Denise Austin, Suzanne Somers, Kathy Smith, Jane Fonda, and, of course, Olivia Newton John).

Their mission was to run a 5k race while pushing shopping carts—all in the name of charity.

The course, which ran along Riverside Drive, included stops at various locations where racers scrambled to find hidden food donations for MANNA FoodBank and complete physical labor challenges that helped further the completion of a community garden and an arts center. Organizers estimate that a cumulative 90 hours of labor was donated by participants during the race. Funds raised from entry fees go toward helping The 12-Day Project, a nonprofit program aimed at mobilizing volunteers for one day every month to assist with a variety of projects across Western North Carolina.

WNC magazine fielded two teams: The Dodgeballers who finished in fifth place, and The Other Asheville Tourists who successfully completed so few tasks that they were given the “I Piddy da Fool" Award for general ineptitude (not kidding). We’ll be competing again next year. You can bet on it.

Special thanks to Greenlife Grocery for lending us our shopping carts.