On Saturday Oct. 16, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce held its first-ever Sunflower 5K and one-mile Fun Run race at Fausett Farms. 

The race offered a 5K run that started at 8:30 a.m. and a one-mile “fun run” which started at 8:35 a.m. More than 120 runners of all ages signed up to participate in the race. Both the 5K and the fun run wound through the thousands of sunflowers at Fausett Farms before the longer race branched off to take runners through the fall scenery in the woods and the one-mile race looped back to the finish line. 

Dawson County Chamber of Commerce President Mandy Power said she and chamber leadership were pleased with the turnout for the race and hope to make it an annual event. 

“I think it went amazing; they were registering all the way up until yesterday,” Power said. “When you can run through something as beautiful as the sunflowers it’s amazing — hopefully we can make it an every year event, so we’re excited.”

Power said that, with the number of runners the race brought to Fausett Farms, she and the chamber hope to draw a little extra business in to the other fall attractions that Dawson County has to offer. 

“It’s right here in the thick of everything, so hopefully they’ll stay and hang out here, at Burt’s, down at Uncle Shucks,” Power said. “That would be awesome to keep them up here for the whole day.”