It’s winter in Middletown, and somewhere beneath the snap of the cold air and the quietness of the leaf-barren trees, life is readying itself to burst forth and inhabit the Middletown community this upcoming spring.

It is with that same energy that plans are in motion for the 3rd Annual Francie’s Family 5K Run/Walk, scheduled for Saturday, March 17, 2012—a day that promises to get heart’s pumping and spirit’s soaring.

Francie’s Family 5K Run/Walk was created three years ago as a way to shine nurturing light on the dark, unimaginable tragedy that befell Middletown on April 18, 2009 when the community learned of the loss of the Billotti-Wood family.

Francie Billotti-Wood, a mother, avid volunteer and lover of her Middletown Valley family, made a huge impact on her immediate friends and family, as well as on the many organizations to which she so proudly contributed.

Throughout our grieving process, two things remained clear; Francie made a tremendous impact on the people who knew her, and she was a positive person who deserved to be remembered for the way she lived, not the way she died. Our community is a family, and we hope for this event to continue to be a unifying and loving way to positively remember and honor our lost family members.

The primary goal of Francie's Family 5K is not to raise money; it is to come together as a community and remember Francie and her family, as well as other loved ones lost to tragedy. In 2010, the success of the first run allowed us to further positively affect the community, by purchasing four new pieces of playground equipment for the Middletown Memorial Park. In 2011, money raised was used to create the Butterfly Garden at the Catoctin Creek Nature Center. Proceeds from this year’s race will be used for the continued support and benefit of the people of the Middletown Valley.

Online registration begins January 15, 2012. Packet Pick up will be from 6-7 p.m., Friday, March 16, at Memorial Park on Route 17, behind the Medical Center and starting at 7 a.m. on race day. Opening announcements start at 8:30 at the park, the race begins at 9 a.m., the kids' fun run takes off at 10 a.m. and the post race party begins at 10:30 a.m. In addition to these events, there will be food, a kids' area, DJ and awards.