The air was nippy, but at least there wasn't any snow on the ground this year for the third annual Raising the House 5K Race/Walk held on March 19 in Palmerton.

The event was created a few years ago by the Raising the House organization, which was established in memory of Blaine R. House. He was a beloved teacher at Towamensing Elementary School who passed away in 2013. Their mission is to provide financial assistance to the students and families within the Palmerton School District while honoring the memory of Mr. House.Tamara House, Blaine's wife, said last year they had to shovel snow from the borough park sidewalks the morning of the race. This year, it was clean and dry.Runners and walkers began to arrive around 8 a.m. Music provided by Frank Hall's Keyboards and More helped to get the racers revved up.In all, 245 people registered for the race/walk. Each of them received a long-sleeved, orange Raising The House T-shirt and water bottle, ice pack donated by DeMatte Chiropractic, tote bag and lip balm donated by Roe Insurance Group/Farmers Insurance, and a variety of items donated by Pencor Services Inc. Rocco Seiler served as emcee and got the racers psyched up before the race.As the song "The Final Countdown" played, the runners and walkers gathered at the starting line flanked by royal blue and orange balloon pillars. Jae Rehm sang the national anthem, and Mitchell Hourt wrote and recited the prayer before the race. With a hearty "We are Penn State" chant in honor of Mr. House's alma mater and the theme song from "Rocky" playing in the background, the racers took off.They ran - and some walked - up Third Street past S.S. Palmer Elementary School, turned right down Lafayette Avenue, then up to Columbia Avenue and the whole way back to Second Street, dropping down to Franklin Avenue and through an orange and royal blue balloon arch at the park. The first runners crested Franklin Avenue at 17 minutes and 21 seconds.Jacob Martinez, 15, of Palmerton, was the first runner to cross the finish line at 19:14.4. Right next to him was his friend Michael Blacketter, 17, of Lehighton, coming in at 19:14.8.Neither runner considered himself to be the winner, but instead felt they ran together. As members of their high schools' track and cross-country teams, they compete there."It's a good time," Martinez said about the race."Nice day to be out," Blacketter added.The top 10 racers included Michael Horvath, 22, who came in third at 20:44; Nicole Carroll, 11, came in fourth at 21:56; followed by Dylan Gonyo, 14, at 21:59; Gary Dorshimer, 40, 22:03; Joseph Swan, 17, 22:10; George Pekurny, 52, 22:14; Carson Allen, 14, 22:22; and Andrew Chandler, 39, at 22:25 for 10th place. The race results can be found at

www.coolrunning.com.Nicole Carroll, of Jim Thorpe, was the first female to cross the finish line. Her mother, Barbara Carroll, said her daughter loves racing and has been participating in local races since she was in kindergarten. She does about 10 races a year. This was her first time participating in this race."It was a nice course. It wasn't too steep," Nicole Carroll said. "It was a nice day to run."In addition to individuals, there were teams competing in the race. Tamara House said the winner of the largest team went to the Towamensing Elementary Teachers. By winning, they have the honor to set the criteria for the Raising the House scholarship that will be awarded to a graduating Palmerton High School senior. The scholarship will be presented in the team's name.House thanked all of the people who donated time and money to the event."This wouldn't be possible without all of the generous sponsors and families that made donations to Raising The House. We encourage everyone to support the local businesses," she said.The Palmerton Fire Police, Ambulance Association and Police Department all helped keep everyone safe that day, she said. Food was donated by Country Harvest, McDonald's of Walnutport, and Subway of Palmerton. Addison George Photography took pictures of the race, and the Hourt family donated the balloon sculptures. House thanked the Borough of Palmerton for allowing them to have the race. The council has even approved next year's race slated for March 25, 2017.