By David Freeze
Volunteers needed for new China Grove trail!!
Initial work is already underway for the new Grant’s Creek Trail in China Grove. Diane Folk and the Rotary Club of China Grove are spearheading and planning the work along with support from the Town of China Grove. Folk said, “We are beginning to construct a walking trail along the Grants Creek sewer line right-of-way from Patterson Street to Kirk Street with connecting trails at Stevens and Harry Street. A stream crossing is included in the project and will be installed with the help of the Town of China Grove Public Works Department.”
Folk plans a community workday on Saturday, March 28, with a 9am start. Work will begin with clearing the connector trails at Stevens and Harry Streets, as well as cleanup of downed trees and branches. Some trash removal is also needed along the trail alignment. Tools to be used would be rakes, shovels, hoes, spades. The main trail has already been mowed and marked with flags, and some limbs have been removed.
Volunteers should park at Community Memorial Park at 412 South Myrtle Avenue and the group will walk down Stevens Street to begin work. Additional parking may be added later. Folk said, “If the volunteers have any of the listed tools, please bring them. Also, everyone should wear long pants and closed-toed shoes and bring gloves.”
Volunteers may stay as long as they wish, but Folk is planning 9am to noon. Water and light snacks will be provided, as will lunch. Rain date will be Saturday April 12th. If anyone has questions, please contact Folk at 330-365-7039.
Currently the trail is about 2.25 miles, but Folk hopes that it will continue farther north in the future. This is the beginning of China Grove’s piece of the Carolina Thread Trail that may at some point extend from Lake Corriher to the northern town limits.
China Grove Parks and Recreation Director Jill Sellers said, “The Town of China Grove is proud to partner with the China Grove Rotary Club on the first phase of a trail network along Grants Creek. Community workdays like this one are a wonderful example of what happens when residents and organizations come together for a common goal. Once complete, this trail has tremendous potential to connect our downtown corridor, existing and future neighborhoods, and Community Memorial Park, giving residents a safe, accessible way to enjoy nature right here in their own backyard. We hope this project inspires even more community involvement as we continue to grow this trail network together.”
Two interesting odds and ends follow. I have mentioned before that Thanksgiving Day races are on the rise, both in participation and number of races. RunSignup.com, the service that most runners register with now, saw a record 1,330,726 participants sign up for 1,056 Turkey Trots across the country, a 20% increase over 2024. At least 48 of the events were new this year while only 10 races that were held in 2024 were not run in 2025. The average race grew 11%, the third straight year of double-digit growth. Approximately $3.2 million was raised for charitable causes. Our Butterball 5K is one of these.
The New York Road Runners are giving entrants to the upcoming NYC Marathon the chance to personalize their race bib, albeit for a cost. Members can have their first name added to the bib for $10, with non-members charged an additional $5. While most races offer this service at no extra charge, the NYRR are adding it as an option on top of the marathon’s $255 registration fee for members and $315 for non-members. With hundreds of dollars required to settle into a hotel room the night before the race, perhaps the $10 bib charge isn’t much in comparison to all the other expenditures runners must make to run in New York City. I ran this race four times, thankfully none of them recently with these prices.
Our next race is the Mount Hope Church 5K and Fun Run on March 28th at Salisbury Community Park. Look for it and other events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org
