SALISBURY ? Registration is open for the ninth annual Tim Kennard 10-Mile River Run and 5K Walk, scheduled 8 am on March 4.

Presented by Comcast, the run starts and finishes at Salisbury University?s Maggs Physical Activities Center. Free parking is available in the SU garage on Wayne Street.

Race-related events begin March 3, with a Family Sports and Fitness Exposition from noon-5 pm in the upstairs gym of Maggs Physical Activities Center. Pre-registered entrants may pick up their race packets during the expo.

A pasta buffet follows the expo from 5:30-7:30 pm in the Worcester Room of the Commons. Admission is $15 per person. A cash bar will be available.

The race is held in memory of local runner Tim Kennard, who died of renal cell cancer in 2004. There is equal prize money for males and females in the 5K and 10-miler: $150 for first place, $100 for second and $50 for third in each open division and $50 for the top overall runner in the master division. Custom-designed awards are presented for the first three finishers in each age group for the 5K and 10-mile events.

One wish of Kennard was to have the proceeds of the race benefit children and animals. The 2012 run/walk aids Coastal Hospice for children who have had a sibling or parent die from cancer; the Salisbury Horizons Student Enrichment Program for economically disadvantaged children; and Coalition of Caring, which works to rescue animals.

Regy, a pit bull who was abandoned and now has a loving home, will be recognized at the awards ceremony as the 2012 rescue dog. He will take part in the 5K walk.

Advance entries for this year?s race must be postmarked by Feb. 29. Mailed entries will not be processed after that date. Online registration is available through March 1, at www.active.com or www.timkennard.org. In-person registration is available from noon-5 pm on March 3 and 6:30-7:45 am on March 4.

Registration for the 10-mile run is $45 through Feb. 24, $55 after. Registration for the 5K run/walk is $25 though Feb. 24, $35 after. Registration for the 5K non-competitive walk is $20 through Feb. 24, $30 after. The first 500 to pre-register receive long-sleeve race T-shirts.

Tags: Physical Activities