First annual Harvest Hustle set for Saturday

OTHELLO — Pillar Fitness is partnering with the Othello Huskies cross country team and Les Schwab of Othello this weekend to host their first annual Harvest Hustle 5K/10K. The event will take place Saturday with 5k and 10k runs starting at 9 a.m. 

“Being able to bring something into the community is (great),” said Angel Garza, a managing partner at Pillar Fitness. “We’re in a revamping stage, it seems like over the last couple years there’s newer events taking place.” 

Garza said one of the reasons he and his family opened Pillar Fitness two years ago was to be more involved in the community. Pillar Fitness has hosted a couple of events in the past, but the Harvest Hustle is something the gym wants to be one of the biggest yet. 

Both races will begin at Pillar Fitness with the 5K going into downtown Othello, through Lion’s park and back to Pillar Fitness. The 10k will go through Kiwanis Park, Cemetery Road and Maders Street before looping back through town. 

Alongside the race itself, there will also be a vendor fair featuring food trucks and various local businesses. Following the 5K and 10K races will also be a kids costume race at 11:30 a.m. where children can choose to run a quarter mile or half mile race. 

This event is open to runners both in and outside of the Othello community. 

“We want to do something where it’s going to remain an annual event and bring some growth,” said Garza.  

The Harvest Hustle is being put together with the core goal being centered around supporting the Othello High School Cross Country team.  

As the team continues to grow, Head Coach David Maldanado said in an interview with the Columbia Basin Herald following the Nike Bob Firman Invitational, he would like to create future travel opportunities for the team. 

Maldanado said he got to meet with other coaches and learn about racing opportunities on the west side of the state. Travelling to compete in these races would be beneficial to strengthening the skills of Othello’s athletes. 

"Some of the coaches were telling me about their firsthand experience with different invites on the west side that we’re looking to start venturing toward starting next season,” he said. “We have some pretty hefty fundraising opportunities coming up, but the goal is to get at least one overnight stay for a huge event or invite to become the norm for our program.” 

With Maldonado and assistant coach Rueben Lopez in their first year leading the cross-country program, Maldanado said they have already had success bringing the program together and hope that through events like this, it will continue to grow. 

“We’re hoping this becomes an annual event that grants this program a sustainable source of income every year,” said Maldonado. “We can still do our little fundraisers, but this main event is going to be what fuels our tickets to the summer camps and overnight stays and things of that nature.”  

Garza and his family are a family of runners, with each member involved in Pillar Fitness participating in Iron Mans and marathons over the years, he said. With this, he said they wanted to create an event for Othello that had the same feel as competitions they’ve competed in previously. 

Pillar Fitness had already made the decision to support Huskies cross country for the Harvest Hustle event, but after Garza met with the Huskies’ coaches and athletes at a team dinner, learned about their goals to travel.  

“We had no idea,” said Garza. “We had already made the decision that we were going to support the cross-country team and that just solidified it. We’re excited about that and for the kids and their future.” 

If the Harvest Hustle is successful, Garza said he would like to continue growing it each following year and has a five-year plan to host a half marathon. As Pillar Fitness builds onto events like the Harvest Hustle, Garza said he hopes the gym’s efforts continue to feed the athletic spirit that already exists in Othello. 

“The coolest thing is we’re going to give to the cross country,” he said. “We’ll see down the road whether it goes to any other Othello athletics, but cross country was the one for this year and we’re happy about that.”  

Signups for the Harvest Hustle can be found on Pillar Fitness’ Facebook and Instagram pages.