The Shepherdstown Daycare held their 5th annual Run by the River on Sat. the June 9 at 9 a.m.

Shepherdstown Daycare is a nonprofit that accepts Mountain Heart children. In order to continue to afford to accommodate Mountain Heart children, the daycare holds multiple fundraisers throughout the year to offset the expenses of the program. One of those events is the Run by the River race.

Brett Basham kept track of the runners’ times and encouraged them to pass the finish line. Basham is , a father of two children at the daycare, a Pre-K and a “sprout,” what the daycare calls infants,

“This year we had about 10 more runners than last year,” said Basham, “That’s about 84 runners total for the 5k and the 5-mile, and about 25 kids for the fun run.” The weather definitely encouraged parents, children and other racers to come out and enjoy the day while fitting in their exercise in early.

Robert Decker, from Purcellville, Va., heard about the race on runwashington.com, a website that keeps up-to-date statuses about races in the area.

“I do many races- sometimes I will do a race or won’t do a race for the cause. I want to help people here,” said Decker.

The idea of the races was to have fun above all other motives. Some people ran for better times, but some pushed their baby carriages across the finish line with them, happy to be finished and happy about the cause. Basham and Heather Thorn wrote down every individual’s time, including 9-year-old Wiatt Scates.

Basham said the 9-year-old finished third overall in the 5k with a time of 24 minutes. Scates was more than excited to comment on his success in the races.

Scates said, “I got first in my age group and third in the overall race.” With his impressive times, he says he had fun at the Run by the River more than anything.

The children passed through a red ribbon at the finish line, some confused as to run through or pick it up and pass under. They were also awarded with plastic medals to wear around their necks and a bottle of bubbles. All the parents, coworkers and other racers stood in support as the children finished one by one. Parents greeted their children with smiling faces, hugs and photos as everyone cheered for the good cause. Without these types of fundraisers, some of those children would not be able to continue to attend the daycare. After all three races, the daycare provided healthy snacks and drinks for all the racers at the train station.

Melissa Holman, director of the daycare said, “This event helps provide care and educational experiences for children who otherwise might not be able to have the opportunity because they are below the national poverty level.”