Bo Run has evolved over its four years

Coleman Bailey still remembers that first Bo Run, a race meant to celebrate the life of former D.H. Conley student-athlete Bo Thompson.

It's in remembering that first race that the Viking cross country coach can realize how the event has changed going into its fourth edition, starting Saturday at 8 a.m. at H. Boyd Lee Park. Bailey was the catalyst for the first Bo Run back in 2005, just weeks after Thompson died in a car accident coming home from filming a D.H. Conley football game.

What began as the first step in the healing process has now evolved into a celebration of Thompson's life. Fitting, Bailey said, that the race takes place every year on the very course that Thompson had envisioned.

“It just really took your breath away,” said Bailey, who often works on cleaning the course alone and thinks about Thompson. “I wanted something for the team to put their energy towards, and Bo had helped lay the trails that summer out here at the park so that we could move our cross country program from the school. I just remember the good times we had that summer doing the work to put the trails in. This place is just special to me. A lot of reflection goes on when you're back there in the trails.

“Whenever I'm on Trail 1, I can't help but thinking about when Bo found a fox scull and took it home to scare his mama with it.”

Conley received permission from Greenville Parks and Recreation back in 2005 to use land at H. Boyd Lee Park for their cross country course. Now, the course is the home track for the South Central and J.H. Rose cross country teams as well. Each race runs by a memorial for Thompson that is kept up by his parents and his church, Oakmont Baptist.

On Saturday, as cross country runners from 49 schools across the state join with members from the community, who will run in their own race, the event will mean something a little different to every runner.

In last year's event, the high school seniors who ran were the last class who were in school when Thompson died during his junior year. This year's race features the first full field of athletes who didn't go to school with Thompson, but they've each found their own way that this race is special.

“This is my first year running in it, but it's really important to me because my brother was really close to Bo,” said Stacey McKnight, whose brother is Ryan. “(My brother) used to run in it in the past, and it's really important to him. I know how much Bo meant to him, so this kind of will make me closer to Ryan as well.”

No matter what reason each person has to run on Saturday, Bailey has just about everything summed up.

“We know why we're here running, and sometimes it's not necessarily about winning and losing. It's just about doing something nice for Bo's family, Bo's church and Bo's community,” he said.

The event starts on Saturday with a community race at 8 a.m. Registration for the race is still open, and runners may sign up on race day starting at 6:30 a.m.

Following the community race, the high school events start at 10:30 a.m. with a championship event. The top seven runners from each team will compete in a boys' and girls' race.

An invitation race will follow, with the next seven runners from each team competing. A junior varsity race concludes the Bo Run, and will include any runner who has not already participated in a race.

One of the newest additions to the Bo Run will be the 7-foot time clock, which was donated by the Thompson family. The clock will be located at the finish line for runners to see as they near the race's conclusion.

Registration for the community race is $15, and includes entry and a Bo Run T-shirt. All proceeds go to course upkeep.

John Swartz can be reached at jswartz@coxnc.com or (252) 329-92592.