Photo courtesy of Emmalyn Kukura
The charming streets of Marble Cliff are a natural calling for a fun, family event. Every day, you will find friends and neighbors out walking, running or biking the neighborhood.
So when former Marble Cliff Village Councilman Jack Kukura was approached by avid runner and Marble Cliff resident Jeff Smith in fall 2016 with the idea of a simple one-mile race through the village, the wheels began to turn.
Later that fall, Jack and his wife, Margaret, were attending their daughter Emmalyn’s end-of-season Grandview heights High School Cross Country banquet, and the event came to life. The Marble Cliff Mile, a fun one-mile race through the village of Marble Cliff, would serve as a fundraiser for the GHHS Cross Country teams.
Photo courtesy of Emmalyn Kukura
Chris Szabo, GHHS Cross Country coach, Jack and Margaret Kukura and Jeff Smith formed a committee, met and brainstormed the event. In a few short weeks, the Marble Cliff Mile plan was put into action. The committee tossed around various potential dates for the race and landed on Memorial Day weekend.
“We liked the idea of a summer kickoff event and thought the Memorial Day Marble Cliff Mile had a nice ring to it,” says Szabo.
Last year’s inaugural event, held the Friday before Memorial Day, consisted of three individual races: a women’s race, a men’s race and a race for kids 12 and under. With more than 125 runners of all ages, the event was a huge success and raised over $1,000 for the GHHS Cross Country teams.
Each winner received a gift certificate donated by FrontRunner. Winners also had the honor of riding in one of Golf Car Company’s graciously donated and decked-out golf carts in the Grandview Heights Memorial Day parade the following day.
As with all of the funds raised in last year’s event, the funds raised this year will be used for team dinners, supplies and other team-building activities.
This year, the race will be held the evening of Friday, May 25. The GHHS Cross Country team would love to have your support. For more details on this year’s event, visit www.marblecliffmile.com.
Margaret Kukura is a Marble Cliff resident and an event organizer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
