BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Union County Board of Education honored Suches’ Run Above the Clouds for assisting Woody Gap students in achieving their higher education dreams.

Beginning in 2000, Run Above the Clouds coincides with the Indian Summer Festival and consists of a 10K road race, a 5K road race, and a one-mile Fun Run/Dog Trot. The course runs through the North Georgia Mountains. Over 190 runners participated in the 2019 race.  It’s also a qualifier for the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Peachtree Road race.

The event is run by volunteers and some of those volunteers are former scholarship recipients. The race continues to grow each year through word-of-mouth and social media.

In the last ten years, Run Above the Clouds awarded $71,600 to students.

The scholarships have gone toward those earning degrees in social work, trade industry, education, nursing, and EMTs.

In 2018, Woody Gap students received $15,850 in scholarship funds from Run Above the Clouds. The scholarships are open to any Woody Gap student who remains in good academic standing while in college for four consecutive years.

“The wise and brave group recognized that the financial burning of training for effective employment extends over the course of a program,” Woody Gap Principal Carol Knight stated.

The current Run Above the Clouds includes Co-Chair Winn Watt and past Chair Jim Miner. The scholarship has application deadlines and the leadership actively encourages students to apply.

“In 2000, we turned over $484 to Woody Gap schools for miscellaneous projects,” Miner explained. “There was one year when the total outlay to students was $16,000 in one year, so that’s where we were that’s where we are. The Lord above knows where we’re going.”

The 2020 race was placed on hold due to concerns about COVID-19.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf7ueHolQcA