NATCHEZ — With temperatures in the 40s and wind gusting off the river, the droves of people on Broadway Street seemed out of place clad in shorts and T-shirts.

But the people filling the street didn’t miss the weather report. They were ready to pound the pavement in the 31st annual River City Classic sponsored by the Natchez Junior Auxiliary.

The River City Classic consists of three races — a 10K run, a 5K walk and a one-mile fun run.

Race director Karri Simpson said, while the weather wasn’t ideal, it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the runners. Simpson said the more than 200 race participants was an improvement over last year’s number.

“We had about 150 people pre-registered for the 10K and 5K and about 50 more register today,” Simpson said. “We don’t really set a goal. We just want more than the previous year, and we did that today.”

Simpson said runners aren’t easily discouraged by inclement weather, which she said was good since the temperatures dropped nearly 30 degrees from Friday

“They are used to running in everything,” Simpson said. “Unless it’s really raining, they are out running.”

The race is one of two main fundraisers for the Junior Auxiliary that helps finance their service projects. The JA sponsors the angel tree at Christmas, helps at the Sunshine Shelter, organizes the Pack the Bus school supply drive and hosts Camp Sunshine.

“Everything we do is for the kids,” said Junior Auxiliary President Cara Moody.

Moody said one way the race directly gives back to the children in the Miss-Lou is through the fun run for children 12 and under.

“We have a competition between the schools to see which school has the most participants,” Moody said. “The winning school gets a $250 check for their P.E. program.

“The schools help us out a lot getting the word out for the race.”

But not all the runners were locals. The race draws participants from all over South Mississippi and one racer traveled to Natchez from Dunwoody, Ga., for the race. Simpson said it isn’t unusual to have out-of-towners in the race because the Mississippi Track Club publicizes the event.

“They bring in most of our out-of-towners,” Simpson said. “They will put out our flier at their other races.

“Having them come in for the race is good for the city because a lot of times they will come back and bring guests.”

This year’s 10K race winner was Dale Griffin from Pearl, who crossed the finish line in 35 minutes and 29 seconds. The first female finisher was Anna Lee Pierce from Yazoo City with a time of 42:33.

The top local finisher in the 10K run was Anthony Lapekas from Natchez, who crossed the line 11th overall in a time of 41:45.

Keith Guy from Byram took the top spot in the 5K walk with a time of 32:4 and Sina Branan of Vicksburg finished second to claim the top female finisher in the walk with a time of 32:13. The top local finisher in the walk was Kim James, who finished in 28th place overall. James crossed the finish line with a time of 40:50.

Thomas Garrity, 12, was the first to finish the children’s one-mile run with a time of 6:12. The top girl finisher was 9-year-old Ta Sandryana Williams with a time of 8:27.