If you’ve seen one “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve,” you’ve seen them all, but have you ever seen scores of runners run a race that starts in the old year and finishes in the new year?

Well, you’ll get your chance this Saturday night with the first Father Time Invitational Road Race, a 4K race that will benefit the cross country and track programs of six local high schools.

The idea came from Dean Breest, a parent of a local high school runner and a fan of cross country and track and field, who ran in a similar race many years ago in Brazil.

“I just thought that was the coolest idea and thought, why not do something like that here” said Breest.

That South American race was sponsored by a local newspaper there, so Breest took the idea to his local newspaper, The Citizen, which signed on to help him bring the unusual race to Fayette County and to spread the word about the race. Breest said he knew of no other comparable race in North America.

Once Breest had the support of The Citizen, the planning period began and a site to start the race was found at the Brooks football fields.

After the initial idea of running around the big clock on Courthouse Square was turned down by Fayetteville officials over noise and traffic concerns, the town of Brooks was eager to be a part of this unique New Year’s Eve activity and offered up part of their land and their facilities to host the race.

As the race approached, volunteers and sponsors offered their assistance and race entries started to come in. In addition to getting support from local businesses such as Cooper Lighting and Smith and Davis Clothing, the race has also received assistance from a dedicated group of high school students and their coaches who see how an event like this can help their programs.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Department is providing traffic control along the race route. Fayette County Fire and Emergency Services also is supporting the event.

There are still opportunities to get involved with the race in any of these respects and information and entry forms are available in this paper and on the Web at www.thecitizen.com.

Runners can pick up their numbers on the night of the race beginning at 10:30 p.m. and registration will last until 11:30 p.m. Around 11:45 p.m. the race will begin and runners will get their chance to be running from one year into the next.

There are 10 age groups for males and females, high school age and up, and there will be over $7,000 in awards and giveaways presented to participants.

The entry fee for the Father Time Invitational is $25 and all proceeds will be divided up among the county high schools cross country and track and field programs, based on the number of volunteers representing each school participating.

It is hoped that the event will grow with each year and that soon, the race will feature the top runners from high schools all over the country, as well as some of the top runners in all age groups from all over the world.

“Not only is it a good way to keep kids from going to parties and maybe getting into trouble, it is also a good event for families to be together and a great way to support the high school programs,” stated Breest, who has been aided in his efforts to set-up the race by his family and friends.

If you haven’t already made plans for this new year’s Eve, why not come out to Brooks on Saturday night and run the race? Not everybody will be able to say that they ran in the last race of 2005 and the first race of 2006, all on the same night, in the same race.

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