The streets of Smithville will be filled with runners on July 1, when the 19th annual Fiddler 5K and One-Mile Fun Run will be held.

The race is open to everyone, and is held each year for a very worthy cause. All proceeds from the event will be used in building a new Habitat for Humanity home in DeKalb County. Money raised from the race will go toward building materials for the project.

The fun begins at 7 a.m., rain or shine, and the 3.1-mile course will begin on Church Street at North College, turn down Holmes Creek Road, then to Golf Club Drive. Runners will then take Riley Avenue to Main Street, taking turns on Mountain and Woodlawn streets before ending up back on Church Street in front of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home.

Race Director Tecia Puckett Pryor encourages everyone to preregister. Online preregistration is available at http://itsyourrace.com/search.aspx?srchby=searchByEventName&srch=fiddler+5k where you can register online until midnight on June 28. For copies of the paper registration forms, visit the offices of the Smithville Review.

Race check-in is on Saturday morning at 6:15, and competitors may walk up and register before the race starts as well. Race-day registration will be at 6 a.m. in the Love-Cantrell Funeral Home parking lot.

Those who pre-register may pick up their packets on June 30 between the hours of 5-7 p.m., or Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. at the starting line. According to Pryor, picking up their packets on Friday can save runners some time, and allow them sleep a little longer on Saturday morning.

The cost of race-day registration is $30 for ages 19-up, and $25 for ages 18 and under. Pre-registration is $25 for adults age 19-up, and $20 for 18 and under.

An overall male award and a female award will be given for the fastest runners. A Masters Award will be presented to the fastest male and female over age 40. The top three runners in the nine-and-younger category will receive awards, and ribbons will be presented in the same way in five-year increments.

One-Mile Fun Run winners ages twelve and younger will receive awards, with overall awards for male and female and the top three.

Brian Shelton of Cookeville dominated the 2016 Fiddler 5K, taking the overall top spot and setting a new course record at 16:12.6, based on a chip elapsed time. Shelton, who also placed second in the 2016 Music City Marathon in Nashville, owns Foothills Running Co. in Cookeville.

Christopher England of Murray, KY set the previous course record of 16:15 in 2009.

Shelton edged out the 2015 winner, Caleb Aikens of Cookeville, who took second overall with a time of 18:00. Will Stephens of Smithville came in third overall with a time of 18:05.

The overall winner in the female category last year was Kristen Van Vranken of Silver Point. Van Vranken covered the 3.1 mile course in 20:23. Van Vranken, a local teacher who set a course record in 2013 with a time of 19:57, successfully completed the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Sean Edwards topped the Male masters division in 2016 with a 19:12 elapsed time, while Kendra Faith Edwards took the top spot in the Female Masters category with a 24:53.

Connor Vance of Smithville topped the 2016 male Fun Runners with a time of 06:47. Bella Bryson of Woodbury, was the female Fun Run winner with a time of 08:19.

The race is expected to draw 300-400 runners from all over the country, and is a Qualifying Race for the Run the Cumberland Medal Series (wcte.org/run).

As in past years, the race is monitored electronically, so runners will be able to see their times as soon as they finish. Runners will have a chip on their bib, and when they cross the finish line it will instantly tell them how fast they ran the race. There will be a gun start, meaning that the start is not chip timed. All the runners will start at the same time, but the finish is chip timed.