BARNESVILLE — As the holiday season continues, it’s time to prepare for the annual Santa’s Spirit Sprint 5K and 1-mile Run and Walk on Dec. 6.

Both races will begin and end at The Rock gymnasium, located at 440 Watt Ave. in Barnesville. The 1-mile race starts at 2 p.m., while the 5K race begins at 2:30 p.m.

Race Director Carl Kondrach said he strives to make the event racer-friendly.

“What makes our races unique is that we get people from all over — from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Charleston and all around — because it’s been described as a runner-friendly race,” he said. “And what that means is, yes, we want to raise money for charity, but we don’t do it at the expense of the participants.”

Kondrach added that he makes it a priority to ensure that the participants are getting the value for their money.

Racer who participate will receive a t- shirt, Christmas ornament, free food, door prizes, and custom-made handmade trophies.

Kondrach said that if racers participate in both races, they will get a challenge medal for finishing both races.

“We try to make sure you’re getting value for your money because races are expensive,” Kondrach said.

Registration for the races is $30 for the 5K and $21 if you only wish to participate in the 1-mile run. To participate in both races, Kondrach offers a joint registration deal priced at $41 for both races.

Funds raised from the races will go toward providing Christmas to families in need during the holiday season. He said when starting the race with friends, organizers came up with the idea to contact area schools asking to be informed of students who may be in need during the holidays.

Kondrach’s wife and co-organizer Jessica Kondrach will contact area schools and daycares to ask for a list of children who may be in need.

“What happens is my wife will call the mom, dad, grandparent, guardian or whoever’s got custody of the kids that needs help,” Kondrach said. “She’ll get the child’s age and sizes of clothes they wear and what they want on what we call their Christmas wish list. And we will go out and do everything we can to buy almost everything within reason on their wish list.”

He added that he also accepts donations in addition to raising the funds from the race.

“We send letters out to a lot of the businesses in Belmont County who will send various amounts of donations, anything from $25 to $200, sometimes more if we’re lucky,” Kondrach said. “We do some Black Friday shopping, some Cyber Monday shopping, but a lot of it is just whatever we can get our hands on.”

The top five overall participants in both running and walking the 1-mile and 5K races in the male and female categories for each race will receive a medal. The top three participants in the “masters division” of runners ages 40 and older, and the 5- to 10-year-old age group will also receive a medal in both the male and female categories.

“We try to make sure you’re getting value for your money because races are expensive. And if you bring a family of three, that’s over $100 and all you get is a banana in water at some races. We want to make sure you’re getting value for your money,” Kondrach said.

He added that anyone with any questions can contact Jessica at 740-238-1833 or him at 740-310-2117.