Noblesville bed race rolls in money to help put kids in summer camp

NOBLESVILLE, Ind (WISH) — An annual race has grown in participants and in its community impact.

24-Hour News 8 watched Thursday as two teams practiced. They did so not with IndyCars or go-karts, but beds. While it was in a parking lot Thursday, on Friday it’ll move to downtown Noblesville.

“It’s definitely an experience that I never thought I would be able to participate in,” bed racer Jenna Beery said. “I mean, who thought of racing beds?”

“It’s unique,” Boys and Girls Club of Noblesville unit director Abigail Rinehart said. “It’s something that attracts attention, and the people who participate in the event, it gets competitive.”

It’s all part of the sixth annual Noblesville bed race. The event has nearly doubled from six teams to eleven in recent years.

“I’m not sure we did think it would last five years ago,” Noblesville Parks assistant director Mike Hoffmeister said. “I think when we moved it from a Saturday morning to a Friday evening it kind of exploded.”

The race not only attracts participants but hundreds of people to cheer them on. While the race is about having fun, there’s another purpose: helping raise money for kids to attend Boys and Girls Club camps.

“We need to help the kids that can’t make it to summer camps or to the boys and girls club summer programming,” Hoffmeister said. “We need to give them a way to come to our programs.”

“School’s not in session and children need a place to go, things to do, and we would rather provide them activities then them be a home by themselves,” Rinehart said.

The purpose might be to help kids, but it doesn’t mean these teams will leave it all on the frame.

“It’s going to be absolutely insane, you’re not going to want to miss it,” bed race participant Lauren Sebring said.

“There’s definitely bed racing trash talk,” Beery said. “It gets really super competitive.”

So far, $3,000 has been raised. The event starts Friday at 7 p.m. on 9th Street.