Participants gather for a photo at the start of the Freedom Fun Run 5K Saturday on Market Street in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo provided)

PARKERSBURG – The annual Freedom Fun Run 5K broke records for participation and money raised Saturday in downtown Parkersburg.

Despite the wet weather, 575 people participated in the walking and running portions of the annual fundraiser hosted by Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law and The Jan Dils Foundation. The event raised $51,250, eclipsing the 2025 totals of 483 participants and $47,500 raised, according to a press release.

“It is a privilege to host the Freedom Fun Run 5K to honor our veterans that have given so much,” Jan Dils said in the release. “This event is a small way for Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law and The Jan Dils Foundation to recognize their sacrifice and give back to the veteran community.”

According to the release, 100% of the proceeds raised go to veterans organizations, including the Parkersburg Division of We Have Your Six, which works to prevent homelessness among veterans; Operation Transportation, providing free bus passes to veterans in Parkersburg, Huntington and Charleston; and a Jan Dils Foundation scholarship for veterans.

The release said the event received “incredible support from the community,” citing about two dozen local businesses and groups.

Jan Dils speaks to participants in the Freedom Fun Run 5K, an annual fundraiser for veterans organized by her namesake law office and foundation on Saturday in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo provided)

The event began in 2011 as the Walk4Vets, held at Parkersburg City Park. It was rebranded in 2019 as the Freedom Fun Run 5K and starts and ends in the parking lot of Dils’ offices in the 900 block of Market Street.

More than 570 people participated in the annual Freedom Fun Run 5K hosted Saturday in downtown Parkersburg by Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law and The Jan Dils Foundation. (Photo provided)

Jan Dils, second from left, poses for a photo with participants in the annual Freedom Fun Run 5K hosted by her namesake law office and foundation Saturday in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo provided)