Muddy ACCE Race Equals Family Fun

ACCE February Column

Muddy ACCE Race Equals Family Fun

While we recently celebrated Valentine’s Day and are spreading the love with those around us, the Access to Community College Education program-paired with New River Community College- wants to share some love with our local young people. Our program in Giles County is dedicated to helping students and families with every step of their journey. Every month we bring you a story of someone involved in the ACCE Program or the very popular ACCE Race event. The 2017 MAR is slated for September 16, 2017 along the banks of the New River Water Trail in Giles County. This month we have a participant of the Muddy ACCE Race tell us about his experience. Read on for Zeb Bowden’s story.

Figure 1 Zeb Bowden emerging from one of the many mud pits at the 2016 MAR. Event staffer Ben Woods watches on. The MAR is a challenging but also family friendly, muddy event, as the Bowden’s discovered.

Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself. A: I’m a lifelong resident of Giles County. My wife Lori and I were married nearly 15 years ago, and since then we have lived on our small hobby farm in Poplar Hill. We have 4 children: Katie, Susanna, Jake, and Owen. None of us had ever done a race like this before.

Q: How did you participate in the ACCE Program? Where you a runner, sponsor, student, parent, spectator? A: I ran in the Muddy ACCE Race, my children all participated in the Youth Mud Run, and Lori cheered us on.

Q: Why did you get involved with the Muddy ACCE Race? A: Primarily I wanted to get involved because the race itself seemed like it would be fun, challenging, and it allowed our family to get out and exercise together. Aside from that, the ACCE program itself seems like a good cause, at least worthy of a few hours of our time and a relative small donation/entrance fee.

Q: What is the one thing you’ll take away from the MAR event? A: The event was incredibly well run, all the way from the organizers down to the countless volunteers and sponsors who were on-site that day. I was impressed with how smooth things went, how fun and challenging the course was, and the amount of community participation.

Q: If you could share a sentiment to those considering the program, perhaps as a student or parent, or considering running in the 2017 event—what would you tell them? A: First, I think the ACCE program itself is a good thing. It’s grassroots, locally supported by individuals and businesses around us, and it provides a worthwhile benefit to students involved in the program. Secondly, as far as the race itself, it was a fun course that allowed the individual racers and teams to decide how challenging they wanted to make it. You could push yourself to go fast if you wanted to, or just try to complete the obstacles—the volunteers were there rooting for you just the same.

If you are interested in learning more about the NRCC ACCE program in Giles, please visit www.gilescounty.org. For more information on the 2017 Muddy ACCE Race, www.gilesacceallin.com.

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