More than 400 runners, and 100 volunteers, helped make the 7^th annual Run Thru the Sun in Huntley a success Sunday.

On the sunny early Sunday morning, they raced through the streets of Sun City, helping to raise money for a good cause along the way.

In the end, Justin Hollister, 21, won the 5k race, and placed first in the men’s overall 5k category with a time of 18:13.4. Mary Raclawski, 11, won the overall women’s 5k category with a time of 20:50.6.

First place in the 10k was Brian Kephart, 25, with a time of 40:04.4. The first woman 10k finisher was Stevie Parks, 20, with a time of 45:03.

There also was a Kids 1-mile race, with Tyler Eberhardt, 11, placing first for the boys with a time of 6:50.5, and Kaitlyn Guyer, 8, first for the girls with a time of 8:29.2.

All of the kids were winners in the Huntley Youth Sports Organization’s first six-and-under kids’ 100-meter dash race, with each of them getting a fun, green HYSO headband to run in, and a medal at the end of the race.

"This year's Run thru the Sun was the most successful yet,” said Race Director Jen Yuchasz, who is a member of the Huntley Youth Sports Organization Board, which sponsors the race. “We had 400 runners and well over 100 volunteers.  We had beautiful weather. It's a great way to bring the community together and get families out running together. I saw many families of 5 and 6 register, and moms and dads running with their son or daughter out on the course.  That's what this is all about."

The not-for-profit HYSO is made up of local volunteers and has been active in the community since 1999. Volunteers work to raise funds through the run, a golf outing and donors, to help develop and enrich youth sports teams in Huntley, and within the Huntley Park District.

Since then, it has given out more then $120,000 to local youth sports teams to purchase equipment and more. In the past they’ve helped fund $20,000 in movable lights for local soccer teams, $30,000 in helmets for the football teams, $10,000 for baseball scoreboards, mats for wresting and a timing system for the Huntley Stingrays swim team.

This year, the HYSO board voted to fund concussion baseline screenings for all of the kids on local youth sports teams.

President Jim Moffett came up with the idea, and the board loved it, Yuchasz said.

“Concussions are becoming a hot topic within sports as a whole, but particularly youth sports because of the risks involved with a second impact,” she said. “Basically having a second concussion occur while the brain is still healing from the first concussion is extremely dangerous and can be deadly.

“Having these baselines done, parents are able to ensure that a recovery from the first injury is in fact complete before returning to sports,” she said.

It is the group’s hope that by making these screenings available to kids in the community, they will be able to help raise awareness about concussions and the healing time after a brain injury.

HYSO is working with Centegra, which will conduct the screenings. The health organization will work with a representative from each youth sports organization to set up a day or series of days where parents can bring their child in to get screened, Yuchasz said. Centegra will then send the bill to HYSO.

HYSO board members are encouraging parents to be sure to ask their sports programs to set up the screenings so that they happen. All they need to do is set them up, and HYSO will take care of the bill.

“It is up to the organizations to make this happen,” Yuchasz said. “We want to pay for it.”