On Saturday, August 5th, Wilton Fest held its 5K Color Run, in the cooler moments of the day. At 8 a.m., runners lined up in Dorset Valley, which sits at an elevation of 978 feet. Participants then ran on the Sparta Elroy Bike Trail, until they reached the finish line, in Wilton, on the corner of Main Street and Cemetery Road, which sits at an elevation of 1,155 feet.
As runners set out on their personal 5-kilometer journey, Mutz Flock and Rosalyn Kruse doused the runners in brightly colored chalk, as an added fun moment to the event. Flock and Kruse then drove to the finish line, where they again continued their colorful dusting of participants. When the energetic running enthusiasts went into cool-down mode, walking through the streets of Wilton, it looked as though they had fallen through a rainbow.
In addition to the race providing a measure of the top-skilled ego couriers, there was a palpability to the bonds of those who were running together and those volunteering together.
Dustin and Sawyer
Crossing the line together, were Dustin Powell and Sawyer Skowronski. The two best friends both attend school at Brookwood. Powell is in 6th grade, while Dustin is in 4th grade. Dustin lives just outside of Norwalk, on a farm that has beef cattle and some horses. Sawyer lives in Wilton.
Dustin told the Herald that he enjoys running, but not for training. “I like running … kind of, but not for training. I just like doing the fun runs.” Powell says that his upcoming sports endeavors will include cross country, track and wrestling. Sawyer Skowronski says that he has a strong interest in playing baseball, basketball, track and cross country.
When pressed on what type of caloric intake and nutrition fueled their youthful energies for the 5K race, Sawyer replied, “Pancakes, bacon and eggs.”
Dustin Powell said, “Probably, maybe, a couple pieces of toast and either bacon or sausage.” When the Herald pressed further on the total toast toppings, Powell stated, “My favorites are peanut butter and jelly and sometimes Nutella.”
Moms
Standing nearby, during the interview, was Dawn Powell, mother of Dustin Powell. “I think that the thing that is so unique about running, is that, yes, you are competing against each other, but you are forming friendships along the way. Our boys have a couple years between them, but that doesn’t matter because of their love for running … it is like they just know, ‘We are doing this together.’”
Dustin is the youngest of seven children, and the fifth runner of the sibling heptad. “He [Dustin] is just following suit,” Dawn Powell stated. “But Sawyer, he doesn’t have older siblings who are in high school yet, so it is mentoring for him, and it is wonderful to see.”
The two boys met through a running club, headed up by Kim Nofsinger. His running club, which splits time between Wilton and Norwalk, allows anyone to join. While the club is open for anyone, it typically enjoys a youthful stronghold. Nofsinger also coaches the junior high cross country, at Brookwood, and track for the high school.
Geena Skowronski, Sawyer’s mother, says, “Depending on family events, Dustin and Sawyer may not see each other every day, but they always kind of pick up exactly where they left off.” The Herald noted that it was as if time just pauses, from goodbyes to hellos, for those boys.
60-Year Reunion volunteers
Mutz Flock and Rosalyn Kruse were celebrating their 60th Class reunion. They were part of the last class that ever graduated out of the Wilton High School. Also volunteering with the 5K event was Patricia Von Haden, Larry Bever, Johnny Barden and his wife, Nancy Barden. The reunion included the classes of 1962 and 1963.
Larry Bever, who was handing out water for the runners, worked with General Motors, down in Janesville, before he and his wife moved back to Wilton, in 2006. Upon his return, Bever took over as Commander of the Wilton American Legion, a position he would hold for a decade. Bever spoke of the Wilton Veterans Memorial. “During my time [as commander] we built a really nice Veterans Memorial,” Bever stated. Then he quipped, “Getting that in place was like having a fulltime job.”
The Winchel Family comes through with Flying Colors
Holly Winchel, from Hillsboro, was pushing a stroller as she came across the finish line, with her daughters, Ava and Addison. The three were powder coated in colorful chalk dust as they were crossing the finish line, by none other than Dawn Powell and Geena Skowronski. Her husband, Jason Winchel, had finished a bit earlier. Ava, when asked by the Herald photographer if she would run through the colorful chalk dust again, with her mother, was 100 percent in.
In a small Wisconsin town, nestled within the deep green hills and valleys of Monroe County, bonds of friendship were the currency issued for the heartbeat of Wilton Fest. Within those heartbeats, deep currents of love and togetherness continued to flow, whether it was from the freshness of two young boys, covered in bright-colored chalk, who were chatting about sports and school, or the reuniting of souls, after 60 years, where classmates continue the strong bond that was formed in their adolescence. It was a moment incapsulated within a grain of sand, that then fell through the hourglass of our histories, maintaining its absoluteness amongst the other moments and memories of our forever.
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