IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – As preparations for the Iron Mountain Half Marathon continue, the race board has enlisted the talents of students from the Dickinson-Iron Tech Center to design this year’s t-shirts. Among the participants, Paige Sabotta’s design stood out and was chosen by the running community through a vote on social media.
Sabotta, a talented graphic artist, found inspiration in the natural elements that surround her city. “So I decided to do the line of trees, and I had an idea to make them shorter and then get longer with the 5-mile, you know, and on. And I ended up liking it better with the trees all the same size,” she shared, explaining the thought process behind her winning design.
Currently, Sabotta is preparing to attend Bay College in the fall, with aspirations of becoming a chiropractor. However, she plans to keep art and design as her minor, showcasing her commitment and passion for the creative field.
As Ink Design and Apparel prepares to print the t-shirts featuring Sabotta’s winning design, the anticipation for the Iron Mountain Half Marathon continues to grow. The collaboration with local students not only showcases their talent but also fosters a sense of community involvement and support.
With the race just around the corner, participants can look forward to receiving their unique t-shirts, showcasing Sabotta’s artistic interpretation of the race and the natural beauty that surrounds Iron Mountain.
The Run Iron Mountain organization’s race director, Sara Pericolosi, informed that the new involvement of local talent in getting the T-shirt designs made, was part of a larger goal of giving the local youth a better sense of community.
“We really as a race board decided how can we engage our students? How can we really see their talents and capitalize on them? So we partnered with the Dickinson-Iron Tech Center. And we had some of their seniors in the Graphic design class mock up some shirt options for us. And then we put that out there to our runners. We used social media. And we heard their voices, and so we had one senior whose design was selected. And so that’s the shirt that we’re going to be running in this year and it was designed by Paige, ” shared Pericolosi.
“More than that, the Dickinson-Iron tech center students also printed all of our volunteer shirts. So they made the screen, they printed all of the shirts. They’re learning a little bit about what it’s like to have a customer come in with a brand package and say this is kind of what we’re looking for. Now use your creative freedom,” Perocolosi added.
“And so for us, it’s really about getting our high-schoolers out here, so we have high school bands, we have the tennis team, the football team, and it’s really about creating a sense of community,” Pericolosi stated.
To get your spot in the half-marathon, or for more information on how to get involved in running events in Iron Mountain, please visit:
https://runsignup.com/Race/Events/MI/IronMountain/IMRTHalfMarathon
