15 years ago, the city of Reading was just starting to rebuild following a devastating tornado that tore through the community, destroying nearly everything in its path.
Saturday morning, close to 100 riders and runners gathered outside of the Reading United Methodist Church for the 15th annual Tornado Trot and Trail. Organizer Jan Briggs says it was one of the largest turnouts she can recall seeing in recent memory, noting the turnout always seems to grow each year.
Fellow organizer Nancy Standiferd says looking out at the field Saturday morning took her back to the very first year.
The run and walk originally began as a fundraiser to support rebuilding efforts following the damage from the EF-3 tornado in May of 2011. Once that mission was accomplished, organizers set their sights on another worthy cause, Handlebars of Hope.
The locally developed charity offers free bikes to people in Emporia and also in Mexico. Standiferd says they are proud of the work they have done to support the charity, which embodies the same spirit of resilience the city of Reading showed back in 2011.
She believes the city’s spirit is helping inspire others thanks to Handlebars’ reach.
Briggs says it is humbling to see just how far the small town event’s reach has grown over the last decade plus.
Fundraising totals from this year’s event are currently pending. We have video from the Trot and Trail available on KVOE’s YouTube Channel.
