By Mark Aiken

 
Sometimes you have to provide some backstory in order to correctly tell a story. In rare cases, even the backstory requires a backstory. That’s the case with the BarnArts Race Around the Lake, a running event held at Silver Lake State Park in Barnard on May 20.

You can’t fully appreciate the Race Around the Lake without knowing the story of the Summer Youth Theater program in Barnard. And you wouldn’t have a full understanding of the Summer Youth Theater without knowing about the organization that runs it, BarnArts. So here are the intertwined stories and background of the Race Around the Lake, the Summer Youth Theater, and BarnArts.

Fitness, Scenic Views, and a Great Cause

For Peter Kahn, veteran of all five Races Around the Lake, this event is his hometown race. “I run the roads and trails of this race pretty much every day,” he explains. Which is why Peter also volunteers to put up signage for the course, do race setup and takedown, and plan it.
“The event is friendly to all levels of runners,” says Peter. The Race Around the Lake has a 5K course, a 10K, and a fun run for kids that takes them around the park for about a quarter of a mile. Both routes lead runners past the campground at Silver Lake and through the village of Barnard.

For More Information

The race this year is on Sunday, May 20. For more information and to sign up, go to runsignup.com/Race/VT/Barnard/BarnArtsRaceAroundtheLake. To learn more about BarnArts Center for the Arts, go to www.barnarts.org.