Williamstown Welcomes Run for Dogs
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The seventh annual Humane Race to benefit the Berkshire Humane Society will be run through the streets of downtown Williamstown this year.
The event's been held at Mount Greylock Regional High School but the organizers are hoping to get more people and merchants involved by making it a downtown event.
"It's been very successful at the high school but it's limited and we haven't been able to grow it the way I think it can be grown," organizer and BHS board member Alix Cabral told the Selectmen on Monday night. Cabral said she and her husband, Brian, had attended other canine runs in downtown areas that have drawn hundreds of people.
The race has raised more than $50,000 over the last six years for the open shelter located in Pittsfield.
The route would start at Water Street, head east on Route 2 and then down Spring Street, over Walden Street, throught the Knolls and around the Clark Art Institute, back along South Street to Route 2 and back to Spring Street, where the race will end. A glitch on the route — the lack of a sidewalk in front of West College — still had to be worked out.
Cabral said the route may mean the event will become more of a fun run, although organizers would try to keep it in race form if it was deemed safe enough to do so.
Police Chief Kyle Johnson, who was also at Monday's meeting, said he had had a number of meetings to work out the details with Cabral. The plan is to shut down Water Street for approximately a half-hour at the start of the race; Spring Street would be shut down during the entire race and after event.
"We thought we'd try something new to get more visibility for the event and also to hopefully involve more people and the town, merchants and shop owners, to be a little more on people's radar," said Cabral.
 Police Chief Kyle Johnson and Humane Race organizer Alix Cabral report on plans for the race's move to the downtown area |
"She feels many events in town don't include Water Street, [they] don't bring it into the fold," said Cabral.
On Thursday, Brown said she and her husband, Tom, had known about the race for awhile but became heavily involved last May after the death of one of their beloved dogs at the age of 15. The Browns had gotten other shops, such as The Cottage, to promote the race with window displays for a week or so before the event.
Mezze, Williamstown Realty Group and Water Street Books are also located at the top of Water Street in addition to The Browns and The Cottage.
"The whole corner is very assembly friendly," said Brown, who would like to see the event help tie the downtown shopping areas together.
The Selectmen approved the benefit and the concept of growing it as an annual downtown event.
"I think it's a great idea doing it in town just in terms of visibility there, be so many more people," said Selectman David Rempell. "It's just the right place to do it."
Brown said it was something that could be built on to bring people into Williamstown.
"Especially knowing how popular the reindog parade is," she said. "Williamstown is just such a dog-friendly town."
The race is sheduled to take place Saturday, May 9, beginning at 10 a.m.
