Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  It’s back.

Nederland’s own running race, created in September of 1982, returns after a year of regrouping. The Ned-Ned will take place this Saturday starting at the Teen center and will be a welcome homecoming for the small, homegrown event.

It was 33 years ago that Kay Turnbaugh of the Mountain-Ear Newspaper and the Pat Willits of Mountain Community Schools, realizing that many locals were runners, and that we mountain residents had the most beautiful vistas in the county, decided that hosting a 10K race was logical and desirable.

With a cadre of volunteers these race leaders managed to organize and prepare for the first time race without the help of devices or tablets or computers, compiling the times and results by hand.

The race began at the Nederland Middle Senior High School, later including a one-mile fun run around the  high school track for little racers and their parents and a 5K run for those not up to the 10K.The main flood of runners headed west towards Eldora, along middle Boulder Creek towards the Continental Divide.

Many summer and all year Eldora residents became long-time volunteers, showing the 5Kers where to turn around and handing out water to the participants who struggled up the long and winding hill.

When the 5k runners headed back into town, they ran through Old Town where another group of volunteers pointed the way and cheered them towards the finish.

Traditionally, food and awards were given out in Chipeta Park. Teams decked out in costumes  with dogs on leashes and kids in strollers frolicked their way through the course, many of them more concerned with how they ran the race rather than how fast they ran the race.

In the early years of the race, the top winners were awarded mugs made by potter Wendy Cookler. The entry fee was $7.50. The first T-shirt was designed by local artist George Blevins: a woman bursting out of an aspen leaf.  The first year lured 159 runners.

In 1987 there were five teams: Positive Energy, which won the trophy, Club Ned, Eldora Wind, Nederland Child Care and the Caprolites fro Nature’s Own. A cash prize of $50 for the overall fastest time and for the fastest Nederland area runners.

It was in 1988 that a group of people decided to  walk the race. Over the years, family walking has become a Nederland tradition and the beginning of many generations of runners who continue to carry the torch.

For 31 years the race continued. At one point up to 500 runners ran through Nederland up the Eldora Road and back again. Last year, the race was cancelled and the community mourned the loss of the annual fall event. The changing of the green to gold had become part the Ned-Nederland race and the aspens shed their leaves without the runners.

It was too good a thing to let go.

Susan Churches, TEENS Inc. Development Director, says, “We approached the previous race director to see if we could help keep it alive and going. We agreed that making it a benefit for a great cause like TEENS Inc. would be a fantastic way to keep the run ‘running’ in our town.”

The name was shortened to Ned-Ned and Churches volunteered to become the race director. She says that for the past 33 years, most of the race directors have been women.

With the change of name comes a new course, the Half Marathon, with is partially on forest service trails. Well-known marathon runner Mike Sandrock and author of Running with the Legends has signed up to check out the new route which cuts up the Sugar Magnolia Trail down West Mag, across Hwy. 119 to East Magnolia, to FS trail 606 and back to Ned.

Churches likes to describe the race as “A Little More Extreme,” a new chapter in the Ned-Ned history. Costumes for the 5K are encouraged and dogs will need to keep their humans on a leash.

Littlefoot inherited the announcer’s responsibilities from Dave Felkley who greeted runners at the finish line for every race.

Sportiva, the main sponsor and Boulder Running Company will be giving away shoes for the door prices and the first 100 registrants already received cool socks.  Beautiful wooden finishers medals have been made by local Jacquelyn of Hippie Geek Studios. A 4 by 6 framed photograph by local James DeWalt will be given as a prize for the top three placers in each category.

Churches says an exceptional group of core volunteers have signed up and are preparing for the race. “I have so much respect and gratitude for them. They, along with other volunteers and, of course, the teens are involved. These are wonderful people, all supporting us and making a difference in our community by offering a healthy choice to teens and their families. How lucky we are to have these people giving their time and energy and TEENS, Inc. in our community.”

This year’s 5K, Half-Marathon will be a history making race in a historical Nederland event.

If interested in volunteering, please email Susan Churches at: NedNed@teensinc.org

For Ned-Ned results check out this website after Friday, September 18.