Ragnar Relay finding way to help

Successful sporting events often create a significant impact in the communities they are held.

Sometimes that is purely a financial one where participants roll into town, spend a few dollars at the local diner, rent a motel room and fill up a gas tank before leaving.

The Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back wants to be more than just a few thousand people filling garbage cans as the primary indication they were around. Instead, the Ragnar Relay organization teams up with Operation Kids to make a lasting difference in the communities the athletes pass through on their way to 188 miles of continual running.

"We look for ways to make a joint effort to improve the health and fitness of kids," Sara Nichols, a spokesperson for Operation Kids Utah, said. "So we help them find organizations and get fundraising money to them."

Working together since the 2005 event, the organizations have selected Best Buddies of Utah as the 2009 recipient of their charity.

Best Buddies, which pairs volunteer mentors with intellectually and developmentally delayed individuals, has chapters in communities up and down the Wasatch Front and across the country.

The funds donated by teams, individuals and other Ragnar Relay associates will be used to create new Best Buddies chapters at high schools as well as fund an annual Best Buddies 5k run/walk in the communities the relay passes through.

"One hundred percent of the donations we get will go directly to Best Buddies," Nichols said.

For their part, the Best Buddies will be staffing aid stations at checkpoints 12 and 30 along the route. They will also participate in a finish line celebration.

"We have a firm commitment to accountability," Rick Larsen, president of Operation Kids, said, "and a desire to change the way the world looks at charitable giving, by providing a more effective way to help children in need."

In an effort to boost the donations, the Ragnar Relay organizers held one of the coveted entries to the race open and auctioned it off on eBay.

The winning bid was $1,200.

The relay starts Friday morning in downtown Logan and most of the teams made up of as many as 12 runners will run around the clock until they reach Park City sometime Saturday afternoon or evening.

An estimated 9,000 runners will be involved in this year's race.

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com

Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back

Friday and Saturday

Starting Line: Merlin Olsen Park, Logan

Finish Line: Quinn's Recreation Complex, Park City

Distance: 188 miles

Info: RagnarRelay.com