ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Star was the finish line for some runners Friday morning who were looking to fulfill a more than 30-year-old tradition.
Every New Year’s Day, Star City Striders, a running group in the Roanoke Valley, hosts a run to the star.
It’s a tradition dating back to 1990.
To ring in 2020, 200 people did the run; however, due to COVID-19 and the restrictions on gatherings, the official run couldn’t happen this year.
Even though it wasn’t official, runners and walkers still laced up their shoes and started the year started on a healthy note.
Gary Adkins is one of the four who started the tradition all those years ago.
“It’s nice to see other people have similar mindsets that think it’s a good thing to do,” said Adkins.
One runner told 10 News that he drove from Giles County to take on Mill Mountain for the first time.
“I brought a couple of kids with me from Narrows and Giles High School and decided to just come up here and run to the top because we’ve always heard about it, knew it would be hard so we just decided to head this way and start it off,” said Colin Munsey.
It’s a challenge they wanted to do with or without the official event this year.
“I think it’s a new beginning. I think we just have to move on and move forward and hope for the best in 2021 and hope everything gets better, " said Munsey.
Star City Striders plans to start its tradition back up on New Year’s Day 2022.