A beautiful fall day in Arkansas welcomed more than 200 runners, walkers, children and pets to take part in the second annual Chills & Thrills 5K Run/Walk and Fun Run on the Mount St. Mary Academy campus.
MSM Rockettes cheered on race participants, some dressed in seasonal costumes, to start the challenging course throughout the Hillcrest neighborhood. Highlights included water stops with MSM costumed cross country team members as well as the “Nightmare on Elm Street,” the culminating hill before the 5K home stretch.
Children ages 6 to 12 had the option of participating in the one-mile Monster Dash, which circled the campus and ended with an obstacle course of tire hopping, belly crawling, wall scaling, sack racing fun. Racing their way to the finish, each race participant rang a bell to signal successful race completion and was awarded a “Survivor” medal.
Mad Scientists, MSM science instructors Dr. Tina Hendrickson and Ms. Robin Johnson, performed science demonstrations like the “magic pitcher,” which used the pH of liquids to change colors, and the crowd-pleasing observation of explosive qualities in varying concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Afterwards, the Mad Scientist Activity Lab let participants experience hands-on activities like decoding secret messages, dissecting earthworms and creating bubbling slime.
Thank you to all of the event participants, volunteers and sponsors for making the 2017 Chills & Thrills event a huge success, with nearly double the participation over last year’s race. Event proceeds benefit all extracurricular programs at Mount St. Mary Academy.
More photos at https://flic.kr/s/aHsm63EAuy

2017 Chills & Thrills Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
CHI St. Vincent
Silver Sponsor
Meadors Adams & Lee Insurance
Bronze
Bank of Little Rock
Bank of Little Rock Mortgage
Kutak Rock LLP
Purple
Arkansas Pet Cremation
Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics
CustomXM
Elite Functional Rehab
Executive Services
Flake & Kelly Commercial
Dr. Thomas and Cynthia Frazier
Integrity Products, Inc.
The Janet Jones Company/ Debbie Teague
McLarty Volvo Cars of Little Rock
Qualchoice Health Insurance
Paychex
Pulaski County Title, LLC
Ray Lusk Plumbing
Relyance Bank
Stone Bank
Thomas & Thomas LLP
Vondran Orthodontics
Wardlaw Orthodontics
Wright Lindsey Jennings
Holy Ghost
Bar Louie
Susan & Tim Boe
Cross Tire Pros
Edwards Food Giant
Krebs Brothers Supply
Kim & Quentin Markland