The participants of the 2024 Running of the Brides. The event was organized by Misty Coolidge, fourth from left. Contributed / Misty Coolidge

The fourth biennial Running of the Brides 5K for Hunger took place in New Gloucester on Sunday, with around a dozen attendees donning wedding dresses and walking a 3.5 mile loop from the Coolidge Family Farm in order to raise money for the Good Shepherd Food Bank.

Running of the Brides 5K organizer Misty Coolidge, left, with Hayley Lebel of Gray. Contributed / Misty Coolidge

The event was hosted by Misty Coolidge, owner of the farm, which is itself a popular wedding venue. Coolidge is well known for having been crowned Mrs. Worldwide in 2022, and has won other pageants. She proudly wore her Mrs. New England pageant sash during the 5K. Speaking to the Lakes Region Weekly, Coolidge said that she always tries to do the event close to Halloween. Originally, she had it scheduled for the last weekend in October, but with several Halloween events going on in the area, she ended up having to postpone to the following weekend.

Matt and Ashley Carson of Bath were among the two dozen or so participants in the Running of the Brides 5K. Rory Sweeting / Lakes Region Weekly

The main barn had several wedding dresses hanging from the walls, which around half of the participants, including both women and men, dressed up in for the length of the walk. From there, the roughly two dozen participants walked a 3-mile loop that went from the venue, across Route 202, through a more rural section of New Gloucester, up Route 202 again, and finally returning to the farm.

Although the Running of the Brides was technically a 5K, in practice, there was very little running at all, with the participants, largely families with young children, mostly taking the time to socialize while other community members cheered and honked their car horns in support. After the walk, participants could have their pick of pizza, hot chocolate, and alcoholic beverages, provided by Coolidge and her mother.

The main purpose of the Running of the Brides is to raise money to combat hunger. According to Coolidge, this is a cause that is very personal to her, and one that she has been involved with for over 20 years. Since moving to New Gloucester in 2016, she had been working with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, recently being named as their first ever public ambassador. She also volunteers there during the winter, as well as during days when the farm is not hosting weddings. With her national profile increased following her Mrs. Worldwide victory, Coolidge has also become an ambassador for Feeding America.

Pictured is a donation box for the Good Shepherd Food Bank. Misty Coolidge has been volunteering with the food bank for eight years, and all proceeds from the Running of the Brides 5K she organized will go to support them. Rory Sweeting / Lakes Region Weekly

“In the past three years,” said Coolidge, “I have traveled to 32 states, visiting and volunteering at Feeding America Foodbanks all across the county. I have also been to 17 countries. It’s been quite a journey.”

Towards the end of the event, Coolidge gathered the participants around, and talked more about the fight against hunger. She mentioned that, in the course of her travels, she discovered that the number of people going to food banks who had never needed one before has increased 50%, a number that is continuing to get worse even as the nation recovers from the COVID pandemic. Coolidge then noted that every dollar of the $20 participation fee would translate to three meals for the food bank.

She praised the community turn out to support Good Shepherd, and said “hopefully, the turnout gets bigger and bigger every year.”