Fun run benefits future of Tyler Pickett Park

On Aug. 17, you can honor a fallen war veteran by running.

Saratoga resident Joe Elder is hosting the Platte Valley Trout Run, a 3.2 mile run in Saratoga, to honor Tyler Pickett, a war veteran who lost his life in combat June 8, 2008 in Iraq.

Elder said he will also donate all the proceeds to aid in the completion of Tyler Pickett Park.

Elder said he thought the run would be a nice way to honor Pickett, but also to contribute to help the park’s construction.

“It’s been sitting there, as everybody knows, and there is kind of a need for funding,” Elder said.

The run calls for a minimum donation of $20, which buys you a T-shirt with the Platte Valley Trout Run logo. The run begins at 8 a.m. at Veterans Island, will go around the Saratoga Golf Course, and back to Veterans Island. Participants don’t have to run the entire route, they can walk if they choose. Afterward, participants can enter the Steinley Cup Brew Fest for 50 percent off ($10).

“People can come up and get their run on and work up their thirst and go over there,” Elder said. “Beer always tastes better after a good run.”

Elder said he got the idea of starting when he was helping clean up the future site of Tyler Pickett Park.

“I wanted to start an annual run and benefit something and I thought of it that day right after we were picking up trash,” Elder said. “I thought it would be a good place to start and a good person to honor.”

Elder said he hopes to see the fun run grow into an annual fundraising event. The Saratoga-Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce seems to want to run with the idea as well.

Crimmins said the chamber has been looking for an event to coincide the the Steinley Cup Brewfest. Crimmins said the Platte Valley Trout Run might be that event.

“Our thought was that we would evolve with the race,” Crimmins said.

Vice president of the Saratoga-Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce board of directors Addie Fletcher said the run is a welcome addition to the Steinley Cup event.

“That’s the coolest thing about the Steinley Cup for me, is that it is kind of evolving all the time,” Fletcher said.