Rain or shine and even if there is snow, the 10th annual Chill in the Hills will take place in Vicksburg Saturday Jan. 13.

“We are pretty good to go,” Walter Frazier, executive director of Grace Christian Counseling Center and race organizer, said. “We have seen it go from in the upper 20s to as high as in the 70s with threat of thunderstorms in the distance. Rain or shine we will have it. The only thing that will stop us is if there is active lightning in the area. What we might do in that kind of situation is delay the start.”

Currently the forecast for race day calls for a high of 49 and a low of 31 with a 20 percent chance of rain.

The race serves as a fundraiser for Grace Christian Counseling Center and will start at 8 a.m. at Martin’s at Midtown, 1101 Belmont St. The event includes a 10K run, a 5K walk and a children’s 1-mile fun run. Sign-up on the morning of the race will open at 7 a.m. at Martin’s.

“The YMCA started it and operated it for the first three years,” Frazier said. “We started with year four through now. It is the largest fundraiser we’ve had in the history of our counseling center and we’ve been open 19 1/2 years. It raises over $10,000 for us.”

The walk and the first half of the run will take competitors along Glenwood Circle. Walkers will then make their way back and runners will continue along Drummond Street before making a loop around Vicksburg High School’s football stadium and returning to Martin’s.

This year’s race will be its second as the Mississippi Track Club’s Grand Prix season opener, which Frazier says hopes increases participation.

“With this being a Grand Prix for the Mississippi Track Club, I feel like it is going to grow a little bit kind of like Over the River and Run Through History,” Frazier said. “Both of those are Grand Prix races and are much larger than ours. Theirs are some of the largest in the state.”

As of Thursday, Frazier said more than 100 people had registered, which is ahead of schedule. He is hoping to have at least 300, a bit above the race’s traditional average.

The race is celebrating its 10th anniversary and Frazier said they will have a new design for the chili bowl that are given out as awards.

Grace Counseling Center provides a full range of mental health counseling services including family and drug addiction counseling and help with depression. The funds raised from the race enables them to help people regardless of their ability to pay.

“We adjust our fees based on what resources they have and sometimes that is little or nothing,” Frazier said. “We don’t turn anybody away.”

CHILL IN THE HILLS REGISTRATION
Registration is now open for the 10th annual Chill in the Hills run and walk. The 10K run, 5K walk and 1-mile fun run is scheduled for Jan. 13, at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Vicksburg. The registration fee is $30, and includes an anniversary edition T-shirt. The 1-mile fun run is free for children ages 18 and under.
To register, visit at.active.com or find entry forms at gracechristiancounseling.com. The Chill in the Hills is a Mississippi Track Club grand prix race.
The proceeds of the event will help the counselors at Grace Christian provide counseling services to all persons in the community regardless of a person’s resources to pay for those services.
For more information, call Walter Frazier at 601-636-5703.