Starting next month, The Glastonbury Parks and Recreation Department will be organizing free Tuesday night races.  The first race will be Tuesday, July 3rd. Three distances are offered: one mile, 2.4 miles and 3.5 miles.   In order to encourage working parents to participate in these races with their children, registration lasts from 6PM until 6:30PM, then the races begin at 6:45PM.  Although this running event might interfere with family dinner time, it is well worth the weekly disruption. I know that many parents of young children may only work part time, and not be at a point in their careers where they can routinely pay between $20 and $100 dollars in order to officially participate in races. Other parents may choose to support charities other than those supported by race registration fees, or prefer to volunteer at busy sporting events. Many towns in Connecticut host similar free running events on certain nights. Glastonbury’s Tuesday runs happen to be available for residents and non-residents all summer long.  Tax money is not the only support for free running and biking events. Many sporting goods shops offer free group runs and bike rides. Please financially support sporting events which benefit local charities that you care about, and if you are just getting into running, please consider taking part in a free race too, and be a role model for the children in your community.