Marlborough/Hudson – The Highland City Striders, a local area 
running club, is teaming up with the Hudson Elks Lodge, and the Marlborough & Hudson Booster clubs to sponsor the School Spirit 2011 – a 5-kilometer Run and Walk that will take place Saturday, Nov. 26 at 10 a.m. at the Hudson Elks Lodge on Park Street in Hudson.
The theme of this year's race, now in its third year, is “a run and walk for community pride” that celebrates the 105-year-old athletic rivalry between Hudson and Marlborough. The rivalry got its start when Hudson High School (HHS) and Marlborough High School (MHS) played their first football game on a Wednesday afternoon in the fall of 1906. When the two football teams clash this year at the Morgan Bowl, it will be the 108th meeting.
The official starters for this year's race are MHS Hall of Fame member Dick LaFreniere, a former standout MHS running back and baseball player. LaFreniere was the MVP of the 1951 HHS-MHS football game. He will be joined by HHS Hall of Fame member Hugo Guidotti, captain of the 1951 HHS baseball team and head baseball coach of the Hawks for 30 years.
At stake is the School Spirit Award Trophy, which will be given to the school with the greatest number of participants at the contest. Last year's race saw an exciting finish with 2006 MS alumnus Sonny Gamble leading the way among the nearly 400 participants, establishing a new course record in a time of 16:02. Hudson's Christy Carrera crushed the previous women's record with an 18:57 performance.
This year, there will be medals given to high school students competing within their grade level.
Said race organizer Jim McKenna, “We did this so we could have the students in each grade level (8th through seniors) have a chance for bragging rights at their school.”
All of the proceeds from the race will go to the Elks Scholarship fund that directly benefits Hudson and Marlborough seniors. Organizers raised over $5,000 for the scholarship fund last year. This race gives everyone in Marlborough and Hudson – students, parents, teachers, alumni, and city residents – a chance to participate in this historic rivalry.
More information about participating in the event, including access to online registration, is available from www.highlandcitystriders.org/School_Spirit_5k.html or by contacting the Highland City Striders at [email protected].
