A new set of organizers is being sought for the annual Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run For Your Life.
Thrive Allen County announced Friday that it and Allen County Crime Stoppers are giving up the reins of southeast Kansas’ largest 5K run and 3K walk.
“While the Mad Bomber Run has been incredibly meaningful and enjoyable for all the members of the committee, it is also a major undertaking that takes tremendous time and resources from all of us as volunteers, as well as from our respective organizations,” Thrive announced in a press release. “Our committee agrees that it’s time for a change.”
The Mad Bomber Committee is accepting proposals until Feb. 28 from organizations or businesses interested in assuming responsibility for the event .
Proposals should be emailed to info@thriveallencounty.org.
The group (or groups) chosen to take over the planning will get all of the materials owned by the Mad Bomber Committee, including equipment, use of the website (www.madbomberrun.com) and all relevant files.
The organizations tied Iola’s bit of infamous history — Melvin, a strict prohibitionist, used stolen dynamite to destroy three saloons late one July night in 1905 before fleeing town — into a lucrative fundraiser, starting in 2009. (Melvin was captured about a month after the blast in Keystone, Iowa.)
At its height, the annual run draws nearly 1,000 runners and walkers to town. An evening of games and activities have preceded the run, which begins at 12:26 a.m., the moment the dynamite exploded, destroying the Eagle, Red Light and Blue Front saloons just west of the courthouse square.
Current committee members have pledged to help the new organizers.
“You won’t be on your own,” Thrive said in the news release. “We just can’t do the ‘heavy lifting’ we’ve done in the past as the central organizers.”
For more information, contact Crime Stoppers Coordinator Mike Ford at 365-4960, or Thrive CEO David Toland at 365-8128.
New group sought to take over Melvin Run
