Fayetteville is a city on the move. Everywhere you look people are on the move, and in a lot of cases, they are using their feet to get where they are going. Being the home to oen of the United States Army’s premier fighting forces, it stands to reason that a lot of those people are on the run. And, as Fayetteville is also known as a city where art lives, combining running and art seems to be a match made in heaven. Or so, that’s what the Fayetteville Museum of Art thought when it started the Museum Miles 5K.{mosimage}
    On Saturday, June 21, runners will again hit the streets to celebrate art and health – all in support of the museum. Since its inception, the quarterly run/walk has drawn quite a following. Some runners come for the T-shirts, some come for the prizes, but most come for either their love or running or their love of the arts.
“This is our fourth run, and the event has really picked up a lot of steam,” said Erica Gilbert, of the museum staff. “We’ve garnered quite a following.”
    Gilbert said runners in the event are not only from Fayetteville, but come from areas surrounding our city. She noted that quite a few of the runners come from Fayetteville. The run averages about 100 people, but she hopes that number will increase with Saturday’s run. She noted that the last run had only 60 runners, but added that it was extremely cold.
    The first run was held at the Cape Fear River Trail, but the size of the run forced the museum to move it to its current home at Honeycutt Park. The run begins at 8 a.m., and will wind through the rolling hills of Skye Drive and the Summertime neighborhood. There will be a turn around point, with a watering station at the 1.55     mile marker.
Gilbert said the run is a way for the museum to not only raise money, but also showcase what it has to offer to those who may not have visited the museum yet. It’s a way to introduce people to the FMA. “It’s a great event that allows us to reach out to everyone in the community,” she said.
    Gilbert noted that while Fayetteville is a community of runners, not everyone who hits the pavement will be running. “People can either walk or run,” she said. “We have some very serious runners who go full speed; but we also have some people who come out and walk the route just to support the museum.”
    Funds raised from the run go directly into the museum’s operating funds and help to pay for programs and events. Participants in the run will receive T-shirts, goodie bags and prizes. Registration fee is $20.
    For more information, visit the museum Web site at  “http://www.fayettevillemuseumofart.org” www.fayettevillemuseumofart.org, or call 485-5121.