DAVENPORT, Iowa — Lining Marquette Street in Davenport, about 1,000 runners were ready to take their mark.
"It's great to come back with these runners, these participants," said race director Joe Moreno.
As the runners got set, they took off for the ninth annual 5K race hosted by Ganzo's in Davenport, after the race in 2020 went virtual.
"Usually we get almost 1,300 runners," Moreno said. "We capped it at 1,000, and that was on purpose."
Moreno encouraged attendees to wear masks when not drinking, eating or running on the course, as part of their precautions against COVID-19.
Moreno has also been the race director for the last six years.
"During those six years that I was involved, that I've been involved, we discovered that one of our grandchildren was diagnosed with autism, so it means even more to me to be connected and involved and helping the cause," Moreno said.
The cause is the Quad Cities Autism Center, which received donations from the race for the last four years. All of the proceeds from the race go to the autism center, Moreno said.
It's a big help for the autism center, because the donation serves as the primary fundraiser for the organization's foundation grant program, said Michelle Smyth, the Quad Cities Autism Center director.
"The grant is set up for families that are in financial need and what it does is it really offsets their out of pocket expenses," Smyth said.
So with each step the runners take, there will be more than one winner at the finish line.
"We couldn't support our families the way that we do without them," Smyth said.