The thermometer read 31 degrees, but that didn’t deter however an eager crowd of about 150 runners dressed in their finest evening wear Sunday morning in Salem.
Participants in The Fanciest 5k Ever were gathering at the West Salem Courthouse eagerly anticipating the race beginning at 10 a.m. Runners entered through a line of volunteer West Salem cheerleaders shaking their pompoms and shouting encouragement and then walked in for a red carpet entry.
The event is a benefit for Safety Compass, a Salem-based nonprofit that provides free trauma informed counseling and assistance for survivors of commercial sexual exploration and up to two years of support for survivors to reconstruct their lives.
Angela Rose Watts, race organizer, has been organizing this race since 2018. She’s raised almost $50,000 to date for Safety Compass, including about $1,100 from this year’s event.
Jeremy Howell, an ultrarunner from Portland, enters the reception line for the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem on Sunday, Nov. 13. Howell has pledged to run 365 miles (65 miles daily) to raise money for the Safety Compass organization (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Runners enter the red carpet at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race inside the Courthouse Athletic Club in Salem on Sunday, Nov. 13 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
Estelle and Grayson Garrett, Tasmyn Petlansky and Tyler Crawford get ready as a family to run in Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem on Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Maddie and Patrick Fennimore get bundled up to run in the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem on Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Esther Nelson-Garrett, the founder of Safety Compass in her fancy dress at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. Esther herself is a survivor of sex trafficking. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Nick Lewis from Portland gets ready to run in his gold ensemble at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. This was Lewis’s 1 year anniversary of running- starting with this race- and he credits running with helping him with escaping depression and likes supporting the cause of Safety Compass. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Runners in the race line show off their fancy wear at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The weather may have been in the 30’s, but runners were happy to stride out at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Running in evening wear is no mean feat- but Brenda Wilson had it all under control at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Another happy runner in a tiara at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)It was a family affair running a race at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)There were many crowns and tiaras seen at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dress up wear was varied and interesting on the running course at the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The winner of the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13 was Nicolai Martin with a time of 18:30. Nicolai was visiting his sister who lives in Portland from Chicago. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Angela Rose Watts, Race Director and Morgan Schmidt take a look at their times after running the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Benton Lunde looks down at his race medal after running the Fanciest 5K Ever Race at the Wallace Marine Park in Salem Sunday, Nov. 13. Lunde chose to run in his suit he usually wears to Debate Club but substituted running shoes, as dress shoes were too slippery and gave him blisters. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
