ISHPEMING — With the blare of a blow horn, some people got an early start for their Fourth of July festivities this morning.

The annual Firecracker Fun Run was held at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming. The event serves as a fundraiser for the middle and high school running programs.

Everyone was welcome to participate in the 5-K but it had a special impact on Ishpeming High School alum.

“What’s kind of unique is, this is more or less our cross country race trail. These kids come back 10 years later and run the course they used to run in high school,” said Ishpeming Track and Cross Country Coach P.J. Pruett. “People from out of town come in, it’s more of a tradition thing. I could do a better fundraiser on a different day and have more people but its a tradition.”

The winner at 18:42 was University of Michigan Sophomore Adam Gaboury, whose father is a former Hematite.

“We visit family every year for the Fourth of July, have a lot of fun, do events like this and have a good time every year,” said Adam Gaboury, first place winner. “So 18:42 is pretty slow, but I just took it as a workout, but it was a good time. It was a hard course, I could never run a PR here.”

Registration fees for the run will go towards a variety of things for the groups including a summer training camp.