Belleville races will go on without Rams appearance

As the St. Louis Rams pick up stakes, some parts of the team seem to have left sooner than others.

The Street Team, part of the organization’s community involvement operations, was scheduled to make an appearance at two Belleville races on Saturday, but the group canceled the day after the team announced it would move to Los Angeles.

Fortunately, the 6th Annual Chiro-Med Winter Luau & 5K and the 4th Annual Main Street Mile don’t rely on the Rams to draw runners in, said Susan Barsaloux of Chiro-Med Health and Wellness Centers in Belleville and O’Fallon.

There are about 650-700 participants who have already registered, and the race grows by about 50-100 runners each year, Barsaloux said. She also expects another 50-70 race-day registrations.

This year, the event is offering an attendance prize of two plane tickets and a free week in a condo in Hawaii. Other prizes include $100 each for the first man and woman to reach the finish line in both races, and a 32-inch TV attendance prize.

Late registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the gym at Lindenwood University’s Belleville Campus. The 5-K race begins at 9 a.m., and the one-mile race starts at 9:45 a.m.

Proceeds will go to the Special Olympics and Get Up & Go, a nonprofit organization that promotes good health and administers a four-year grant, called We Choose Health, from the St. Clair County Health Department.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Belleville races will go on without Rams appearance."