Eighth annual Chase Race held

Pups were prettied up, money was raised and the life of Chase Potter was recognized again at the eighth-annual Chase Race and Paws event earlier today.

The race was held in downtown Conway at Simon Park. Across the park, racers and dogs were decked out for their events - either the race, the costume contest or sometimes both.

“This race is all about memorializing my son Chase,” said race coordinator Don Potter.

The annual event was started in 2006, one year after Don and Cheryl Potter’s 13-year-old son died after suffering a traumatic brain injury.

In addition to serving as a memorial for the boy, the race raises funds for Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Friends of the Conway Animal Shelter.

Don said that over the past seven years the raise has raised $70,000 for the two organizations. He said if you divide that figure up it may seem as significant as a speck of sand compared to an entire beach, but “if it was not for our specks of sand we wouldn’t even have a beach.”

The event features a competitive Arkansas RRCA championship two-mile race, a separate one-mile race for runners to run with their pets and a “Paws” best costume contest for the pets.

For more information, visit www.chaserace.info.