Kentucky Court of Justice
Public invited to participate in Run Away from Drugs 5K on May 5 in Morehead

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Rowan County UNITE Coalition will host its fourth annual Run Away from Drugs 5K Run/Walk Saturday, May 5, at Morehead State University’s Jayne Stadium in Morehead. The run/walk is open to the public and will start at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. EDT. The entry fee is $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 10-17 years. Children younger than nine years may run/walk for free. Proceeds benefit Rowan County UNITE.

The fastest three men and women to the finish line will receive technical race shirts and the top three participants in each age category will receive medals. The age categories are 9 years and younger, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65 and older.

To get more information and register for the run/walk, visit the Run Away from Drugs website at http://runawayfromdrugs5k.org. Individuals may pay the entry fee via PayPal on the Run Away from Drugs website or mail a check and completed registration form to Rowan UNITE/Run Away from Drugs, P.O. Box 591, Morehead, KY 40351. Checks should be made payable to Rowan County UNITE and have “Run Away from Drugs 5K” in the memo field.

Run Away from Drugs began with Jesse Hodges, a recovering drug addict who approached Rowan UNITE in 2009 about having a 5K. He wanted to begin an event to get young people involved in activities and help keep them away from drugs and alcohol. More than 100 people ran/walked in the first race on a cold, rainy Saturday in May 2009. In 2010, Hodges was killed in a work-related accident, but his 5K lives on. The 2010 race was held in his honor and brought out a larger crowd than in its inaugural year. In 2011, the number of participants grew to nearly 200 runners/walkers. About 80 volunteers helped with the event.

Rowan County UNITE
Rowan County UNITE is an anti-drug coalition that focuses on prevention and education. The coalition began as an offshoot of Operation UNITE. A UNITE coalition is a formal alliance of organizations, groups, agencies and volunteers that work together to raise awareness about substance abuse addiction and empower communities. The coalition’s common goal is to help grow a safe, healthy and drug-free community.

The Drug Court program that serves Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties is a member of the Rowan County UNITE Coalition.

Kentucky Drug Court
Kentucky Drug Court oversees the 55 adult Drug Court programs in the commonwealth. The programs are divided by judicial circuit and serve 115 counties. Kentucky Drug Court is administered through the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. Drug Court is a division of the AOC Department of Statewide Services.

The AOC is the operations arm for the state court system and supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.