In a small town, there are resources and connections all around if you know where to look. In setting up the Parent Teacher Organization’s (PTO) inaugural Feathers & Flapjacks 5K and Fun Run, PTO 5K Chair Robin Bratcher reached out to her friend, Alissa Costello, to ask for a favor.

Costello went to Fountain Hills schools from kindergarten through 12th grade and is a member of the Fountain Hills High School class of 2000. She’s been a freelance graphic designer since 2010, and she designed the t-shirt logo for the 5K and mile run/walk free of charge.

“Yeah, well, that’s Fountain Hills,” Costello said. “Everyone kind of knows each other, especially us long-timers. I grew up here, so I know a lot of people.”

Costello is not regularly involved in the PTO because her daughter is too young for kindergarten at the moment. She did say that she’s more closely connected with her Fountain Hills classmates than the people she went to college with, and those connections paid dividends for the PTO.

The PTO is replacing its annual Gala event with the 5K & Fun Run in hopes to be more inclusive to people in and around Fountain Hills. They think it will be a great community event that can get people that normally wouldn’t have a reason to visit the campus to come to school.

Costello is an avid runner that loves Fountain Hills races like the Turkey Trot. She will be running in the PTO’s 5K, and because she gets excited by new races, she likely would have registered to run even if she hadn’t been recruited to help behind the scenes.

“I’m definitely invested in Fountain Hills,” Costello said. “I definitely want to see them succeed and I definitely want to see them improve, so anything I can do to help, I’m happy to do.”

The PTO ordered the dry-fit shirts this past Monday, Jan. 9, so they will arrive in time for the race. Anyone who registered by Jan. 8 will be guaranteed a t-shirt, and there may be a few extra shirts for those who register later.

There is a last minute special discount for race prices leading up to the last chance to register, 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27. The 5K costs $35, the Fun Run is $20, and the flapjack breakfast is $10.

Both races start at 8 a.m. sharp on Saturday, Jan. 28, and the FHUSD Athletic Booster Club will be providing their flapjack breakfast in the high school cafeteria from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The Fun Run will be four laps around the high school track, and the 5K will follow a trail around the high school campus through desert vistas.

The top three finishers in each category will receive an honorary medal. Runners can pick up race packets on Friday, Jan. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the high school front office. Runners can also pick up their packets after 6 a.m. on the morning of the race in the Falcons Nest.

There are several local people and businesses that sponsored the event, and the race will happen even if it rains. Proceeds will be put toward advancing academics and Falcon athletics at all three schools in the district, and organizers encourage runners to show their creative and community spirit by dressing in “feathered flair” for the race.