The July 4th celebrations started early in the morning in Saint Jo as the Firecracker 5K ran through town.
Organized by Howard Davies 17 years ago, the fun run had 136 runners finish all five kilometers to start their independence day off right so they could eat guilt-free for the rest of the day.
The top male runner was 17-year-old Pablo Melguizo who finished with a time of 18:34. The top female runner was 34-year-old Sarah Raney who finished with a time of 21:39.
The top runners in the 9-and-under was E. Thomas for girls and I. Miller for boys. The top runners in the 10-14 class were Sydney and Dalton Miller.
In the 15-19 class, Collin Thomas and Linzie Priddy won the male and female divisions. The 20-29 class top runners included Kaitlin and John Paul Hesse.
The 30-39 class top runners included Genevieve Hampton and Levi Gibbs. The 40-49 top runners were Lauren Miller and Scott Holloway.
The 50-59 classes were won by Diane Sicking and Johnny Parker. The 60-69 division top runners were Laurie Underwood and Davis Duggins. The 70 and over classes saw Donna Sickles win the female class and Donald Wiese win the male class.

To see the times for all of the runners by age divisions and the overall place they finished, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.