Book It 5K Turns 10

Fun races for kids on the track at Holy Communion.

The Book It 5K Turns 10

By Tricia Dewey

Our race committee at Church of the Holy Communion was gearing up to celebrate the 10th Book It 5K this year, scheduled for Sept. 19, 2020. Would we put together a special balloon arch or even finally get our dream visit from Dolly Parton promoting her nonprofit Books from Birth, one of our race beneficiaries? Unfortunately, as all runners know, for safety reasons, in-person festivities will have to wait for another year. This year the Book It 5K will be a virtual event complete with silver linings, including additional distance options like a 1-mile fun run and a 10K, and prizes for most creative, hilliest and other courses. We hope the virtual aspect of the race will inspire many more racers from near and far to join the cause.

For the past nine years, this race has been a fun community event and successful fundraiser that helps raise awareness for two great local community groups, Books from Birth and The Emmanuel Center. After weathering a couple years of construction adjustments, we were ready to return this race to the beautiful spaces we used so well for the first seven years of this event. Normally the race weaves through the leafy East Memphis neighborhood adjacent to Holy Communion and ends with a party in the church parking lot at the corner of Perkins and Walnut Grove with barbecue from Germantown Commissary and pizza from Marco’s Pizza, plus after-party deejay, David Pickens. An added bonus on race day is the arrival of the bus from The Emmanuel Center with children, youth and leaders (sometimes just barely in time) ready to run. We will miss Michael Tucker, our masterful balloonologist, who passed away this summer. He always stayed late to make extra balloon animals for kids and adults and was a delight to work with.

While many aspects of our daily lives have scaled back, the work of Books from Birth and The Emmanuel