TriCity Family Services hosts 7th annual Snowflake Shuffle Run

Two women wearing white beards and a man with a golden-glittered beard were among the more than 450 runners participating in TriCity Family Services seventh annual Snowflake Shuffle 5K run in Geneva Saturday morning.

The race, which offered an optional 10K as well, was held in the Mill Creek subdivision,

Participants were encouraged to dress "in celebration of a Midwestern Winter" with many opting to go with a Christmas theme of some sort. Douglas Saam of Batavia wore an elf hat and decorated his dark brown beard with flecks of gold glitter. A trio of teenage girls donned reindeer antlers atop their heads and wore matching Santa sweaters as they ran the race side by side on the course.

Jennifer Downing, special events coordinator for TriCity Family Services, said the number of participants topped last year's run by about 50. The funds raised by the event go to the Geneva-based nonprofit mental health agency, which provides mental health counseling and other mental health services for those of all ages and income levels.

"Mental health is really struggling these days - financially from the state - so it's really important that we get as much support from the community because we provide really tremendous services for the community," said Downing.

For more information on the services provided by TriCity Family Service, go to tricityfamilyservices.org.