Dressed fully in green for the Shamrock Shuffle 5K, Teagan Walsh crosses the finish line. This year’s run is Saturday, March 16, in downtown La Grande.

LA GRANDE — March 16 promises to be a gorgeous day for the second running of the Shamrock Shuffle, hosted by La Grande Main Street Downtown.

This 5K/10K fun run with bibs and chip timing courses through downtown La Grande, with the 10K taking runners farther afield. Organizer Angie Brown Harris said that even though the official registration with the promise of a race T-shirt has closed, you can still register at shamrockshufflelagrande.itsyourrace.com/register.

Entry is $30 for the 5K, $50 for the 10K and free for ages 12 and younger.

But, she said, even if you don’t want to run, walk or shuffle along, you can still come down and cheer on the runners at all points along the course.

There are well over 200 participants registered so far with both the 5K and 10K starting and finishing at the La Grande Main Street Downtown office at 102 Depot St.

The 10K starts at 9 a.m. and goes out to the Union County Fairgrounds, and the 5K starts at 9:30 a.m. and takes runners through downtown.

Earlier in its history, LGMSD had held a St. Patrick’s Day race, but it had fallen by the wayside in recent years. In 2022, Brown Harris, a member of LGMSD’s Promotions Committee, thought it was time to bring it back, looking at the health benefits and the idea of a fun and community-oriented event designed to generate enthusiasm about fitness at all levels.

In March of 2023, this dream was realized with the inaugural Shamrock Shuffle, which was enthusiastically received by the community.

Brown Harris is a passionate runner and fitness enthusiast. She grew up with a father who ran marathons but did not come to running until her 30s. Since then, she has run multiple half-marathons, marathons and triathlons, as well as running 40 miles on her 40th birthday. She and her husband, Mark, along with her two teenage daughters, enjoy hiking and mountain biking in their free time.

If you have a notion to run, walk, skip, or shuffle on March 16, you can still sign up.

Among the benefits, aside from a feeling of personal accomplishment and being outdoors, runners will also receive discounts at merchants throughout La Grande just by showing their runner’s bib.