DAVENPORT, Iowa — A sea of red took over the Quad City streets for the 12th Annual Red Dress Run.
More than 150 runners and walkers took to the Davenport streets on Saturday, Feb. 18, running and walking for charity while sporting their best red dresses.
"Everybody has to go out and find the marks on the trail. It's kind of like a scavenger hunt where you have to solve the riddle of the marks to determine where you go next," QC Hash House Harriers General Manager Rachel Weed said.
The event started and finished at Rookies Sports Bar & Grill in Davenport. Participants chose whether they wanted to walk or run, and followed different routes accordingly.
"This is a tradition that actually started in the 80s in California, when a lady showed up to a run with her friend, but she had just come from traveling, and she was in a red dress and heels. She went ahead and did the run anyway," Weed said.
This was the 12th annual run put on by the Quad Cities Hash House Harriers, a group that raises money for special causes by holding fun runs. This year, all funds raised go to King's Harvest Pet Rescue No Kill Shelter in Davenport and the Quad City Animal Welfare Center.
"Most of our people here are repeats," Weed said. "It's hardly ever that we get a whole bunch of new folks. And again, it's a testament to the fun time that we get to have."
News 8 spoke to a long time participant of the red dress run, Betsy Green, who says she's taken part every year since it started.
"It's my favorite event of the year, it's so much fun," Green said. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."
The weekend festivities, along with the red dress run, wrap up at Radicle Effect Brewerks in Rock Island on Sunday, Feb. 19.
Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel