HILLSBOROUGH &mdash The sun shone brightly as nearly 600 runners took off to the sound of a horn blasted over the crowd Saturday, marking
the start of the ninth annual 5K Hop Race. Colorful balloons indicated the race’s start at the corner of East Mountain Road and South Branch Road in the township, and runners could be seen stretched out over more than a mile once the event was in full force. The Hillsborough Family YMCA put on the race, a fundraiser for the Y Cares Financial Assistance Program, said Chuck Knill, chief operating officer for Somerset Valley YMCA. “We provide assistance to people in the community who can’t afford normal YMCA services, or pay the normal price for things such as child care, after school care, camp,” he said. Knill said the assistance program is a big public service for many in the community. “A lot of people come to you at a point where they’re struggling in their lives,” he said. “And we do have a lot of single-parent families that we help, and it helps their family be self sustainable, because mom can go to work. Dad can go to work, and they have a place to bring their child.” He said the YMCA provides a safe, healthy, high-quality environment that many children might not have access to if it wasn’t for funds raised by events like Saturday’s race.
Runners who turned out for the 5K Hop Race couldn’t wait to get going before the official start.