Mayor's Challenge 5K Race Brings Food, Music To Alpharetta

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Next month, Alpharetta Mayor David Bell Isle and the lively crowds will converge onto downtown Alpharetta for the annual Mayor’s Challenge 5K Race.

The event will take place Thursday, Aug. 27 at Alpharetta City Hall. In addition to race, it’s a night of great food and entertainment for all.

The event will start at 5 p.m. with food and music. The Free Kids Fun Run will take place at 6:30 p.m. and the 5K will start at 7 p.m.

Less than a year ago, Mayor David Belle Isle set a goal to run in the Alpharetta Mayor’s Corporate Challenge.

Belle Isle hadn’t run for years and the race was only a few weeks away. He was a hurdler on his high school track team, but that was many years and 40 pounds ago.

The mayor’s good friend and director of the Alpharetta YMCA, Scott Doll, became his training partner. They knew there was a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time. They began training immediately, setting the target to achieve a sub 30-minute time in the 5K run.

Belle Isle tells an entertaining story about running in last year’s race. Another runner came up alongside him during the race and in a snide tone said, “some Mayor’s Challenge” as he briskly passed by.

Belle Isle sped up and maintained the pace just behind his opponent with the intent to overtake him in the last few yards of the race. Ultimately, the mayor lost to that opponent, but he did make his time of 29:17 seconds.

Since then, Belle Isle has continued running. He has lost 40 pounds and ran his first half marathon.

Most recently, took first place in the Lion Heart School’s 5K Run in the over 40 category with a time of just over 22 minutes.

The annual challenge is a cooperative effort by the city of Alpharetta, the Rotary Club of Alpharetta and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the race’s presenting corporate sponsor.

Last year’s event raised over $100,000, which funded grants to 28 local and five international charities. The funds were used to support non-profit organizations that make a difference in the lives of homeless children, mothers and families by providing transition housing, life skills training, budgeting and vocational training.

Local charities that benefit directly from the funds raised are North Fulton Community Charities, Drake House, StandUp for Kids, Homestretch, Foster Care of Georgia, Lionheart School, YMCA, Boy Scouts of America, City of Refuge and many others. International projects included water purification systems in Africa and Guatemala and funds to fight Ebola in Liberia.

The Alpharetta Rotary 5K Mayor’s Corporate Challenge is made possible with the help of corporate sponsors such as LexisNexis, Georgia’s Own Credit Union, Siemens, Choate Construction, Children’s Health Care of Atlanta, Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce, North Fulton Hospital, Breakaway Incentives, Salt Alpharetta, North American Properties-Avalon, Endurance House, Level 3, Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Priority Payment Systems, Baird & Co., Georgia Power, Integrated Marketing Communication and many others.

So, do you want to race Mayor David Belle Isle? Log on to Active.com and register for the race.

Interested in entering a corporate team or sponsorship opportunities? Contact Joe Wargo at 678-557-1329 or email jwargo@approved.com.

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Photo credit: Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau