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Giving shined bright and ran strong at the 2026 Glow the Distance MATS 5K race in downtown Morristown on Saturday.

With 356 participants, the race set a record for the number of runners who donned colorful, glowing apparel and raced down Main Street to support MATS, a Morristown homeless-shelter/sufficiency-program that helps people escape housing insecurity.

“It went really well — everything went really smooth with help from all of our volunteers,” MATS Events Coordinator Kaitlyn Peeples said.

The racers and sponsors came together to support the general operations at MATS.

Jet’s Pizza and Snowie Lakeway were both handing out tasty carbs and cold hydration to racers at the finish line in the Morristown Utilities parking lot.

With 77 more racers this year, Peeples is hoping the momentum continues as the non-profit continues its efforts to raise support.

“Things like this race, and our other events, raise support so we can have more resources for our clients,” she said. “It means we can keep the lights on for them. We’re just happy that it’s getting better known in the community… we’re just going to try to keep growing from that.”

MATS is going to be announcing more details about their upcoming 2026 events soon including a disc golf tournament in May, their annual summer Family Fun Day and a concert in August. More info will be published on their website soon and their social media is active.

Sponsors for Glow the Distance for MATS 2026 included Ultimate Storage, Citizens National Bank, Wright Property Marketing Group, Morristown Tire and Performance Center, Heskett Family Chiropractic, KTVAECU, First Horizon, Gold Team Collision Center, Roto-Rooter, Morristown Utilities, TF Building Solutions, Morristown Landing Recreation and Events, Commercial Bank and Tristar Physical Therapy.