Another Memorial Day has come and gone, and with it so has another Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend.

Although it has always been an important element of the overall family race experience, this year we really focused on making the Tiny Tot Trot even bigger and better. We took several steps in that direction, moving the event away from Water Street and into Heritage Port where we had more room for fun and games.

We had energetic volunteers who were happy to get out on the lawn and play games with the children, and our new bubble machines were a huge hit with the kids!

We also spruced up our decorations with a checkered flag theme and some balloon art, and we welcomed a face painter to our site. On the nearby WesBanco Arena patio, the Pittsburgh Pirates Fun Zone set up shop with inflatables, the Pirate Parrot and Pirogies and the Bucco Brigade twisting up some balloon animals, swords and other fun shapes for youngsters to enjoy.

It was a fantastic part of the race weekend, but it would not have been possible without our generous sponsors.

Ziegenfelder Co. was our title sponsor, providing Twin Pops on site as well as T-shirts for participants and items for their cinch bags. Adding to the toys and goodies in those bags were Unified Bank, Outback Steakhouse, McDonald’s Chik-fil-A and the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Cathy Litchko, manager of Sam’s Club in St. Clairsville, stunned me with a huge donation of snacks and drinks for the tots and their families to enjoy. She provided healthy foods including apples, oranges, Sun Chips and peanut butter crackers, along with bottled water, Sunny D and Capri Sun pouches.

All of our guests (and a few of our volunteers) enjoyed those snacks on a sunny, pleasant morning. All of that good stuff helped the little ones feel refreshed after they made their dash for the finish line.

In the end, though, we had more food than they could consume, so we decided to pay it forward and make sure those items went to benefit some other kids.

Right after the race, I reached out to Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies and told him that I had some snacks and drinks available. He a happily accepted them for the city’s summer programming at the Recreation Center. The following day, some city workers stopped by to pick up items that will help to feed kids and adolescents who spend their summer days at the rec center.

The city provides activities for the kids, and now it will be a bit easier for the city to feed them while they are there.

Davies graciously thanked me for the gift, but the credit really goes to Sam’s Club.

I am happy we were able to provide a little something to help more kids even after the Tot Trot had ended.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors, our volunteers — Lenny Wittenbrook, Kayla Van Dyne, Kyle Lutz, Sheryl Sonk and my husband, Mike Strough — as well as all of the families who turned out to participate. I hope that a wonderful time was had by all.

As the Tiny Tot Trot coordinator, I look forward to working with all of you again next year and to coming up with even more great ideas on how we can make the event even more fun in the years to come.

My heartfelt thanks to you all!