The Chocolate Run returns to Georgia Southern’s campus

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - The Chocolate Run has become a tradition in Statesboro and the biggest local 5k of the year.

After a boatload of adjustments during the pandemic, organizers say they’re glad to be back to normal.

Five hundred or more runners will line up once again on the Georgia Southern campus on a Saturday in February for the race. Organizers canceled in 2021 and ran the race last year across town at different times of year and day of the week.

“Georgia Southern has been our original place and we want to be there as much as we can. We’re glad we can be there again with COVID gone,” said Jennifer Davis, with The Chocolate Run.

The race brings out avid runners and casual walkers all for a cause. The race was founded back in 2011 to help build and operate Open Hearts Community Mission, Statesboro’s only homeless shelter.

“Open Hearts relies a lot on what we bring them from The Chocolate Run. They don’t ask for anything but private donations, so they rely heavily on what we provide them as a community,” Davis said.

While it might take a year to get back to peak turnout, they say every participant helps get things back to the level of giving they hope to be.

You can register as late as Saturday morning at the RAC Pavilion at Georgia Southern University.

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