Hundreds of people will begin a competition in downtown Jefferson Saturday.

Jefferson Matters Executive Director Matt Wetrich says the annual Market to Market Relay begins in Jefferson with teams of runners doing different legs of the race along the Raccoon River Valley Trail, with the finish line in downtown Des Moines. As part of the event, Wetrich is looking for a few more volunteers to help stop traffic at each of the intersections on the east side of town, from Chestnut Street to the Trailhead. He explains that there will not be much traffic out, as the race begins at 4:30am, and there is a wide array of people that do this relay, including those in costume.

“And I think they put, maybe, some of the less serious runners shall we say, towards the beginning, because it’s going to take them longer to get to Des Moines. And as the morning progresses, you can see the change. Less silliness as the morning goes on, (and) a little more like stretching and calisthenics happen, and you know it’s just kind of this evolution through the morning, which is very cool to see.”   

Wetrich adds that while the first heat of runners leaves around 4:30am, the final heat is out by 8:30am, and then everything is packed up and the company, Pink Gorilla Events, is gone from Jefferson by 10am. Contact the Welcome Center at the Thomas Jefferson Gardens of Greene County, at 515-386-2155, to learn more about being a volunteer.