The 
Nativity 5K Run was held on Sunday evening at Nativity of Our Savior Church in Portage. Members of the church and many guests from the community competed in a race against both their competitors and the clock.
Prior to the event itself a Fun Run was held for children. The kids’ race was one mile in length with every participant receiving a ribbon and a tee shirt. Approximately 25 kids participated.
“Kids get kind of freaked out when they see a 5K, so I thought I’d go ahead and start a kids one mile,” race director Nicolette Huber said.
The 5K title was won by Alex Ray, who did it in just 17 minutes, 18.2 seconds. John Borman came in second with a time of 17 minutes, 33.8 seconds. Third place finisher Don Robb sped through in 17 minutes, 45.7 seconds.
All proceeds from the tenth annual race will benefit the Nativity Parish. There were about 125 preregistered competitors and Huber estimated that another 125 registered on Sunday before the race.
This was Huber’s third time in charge. It took three to four months to organize the event. The process included taking care of preregistration and gathering sponsors.
Jonathan Nalli, the CEO of Porter Health Systems, was a special guest at the race.
The Nativity 5K is known as the annual kick-off to the Nativity Festival. The fest gets starts on Thursday, July 7 and runs through Sunday, July 10. There will be rides, games, food and other forms of entertainment.