COEUR d'ALENE - The advantage Daniel and Alyssa Shaw had was a Division 1 collegiate career.

The couple - former track and field and cross country runners for Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas - had a leg up on the 200 or so other runners Sunday at the Leprechaun Scurry at Lake City High School, finishing first in the men's and women's categories, respectively.

Daniel, who clocked in the 3-mile run in 16 minutes and 17 seconds, said it wasn't about the competition, though.

"I was just following my wife," he said on how he got to the starting line.

Because the fundraising staple for Lake City's cross country team isn't about winning and losing. It's about the costumes and camaraderie. Think St. Patrick's Day, only a little early.

T-shirts with shamrocks, funny green hats - when the runners get going it looks like the St. Paddy's parade down Sherman Avenue, only a bit faster.

"A lot of us were not going to come because of the weather," said Mirna Pleinses, who dressed to the nines with a green lei and tutu with a group of her friends, all of whom blasted through the snow-covered course around 9 a.m. "But we braved it."

The run's been running for 22 years now, and proceeds go to the school's cross country program. Saturday's snow storm deterred a few runners. Of the 260 who registered, 200 or so showed up.

"I wanted to start running again," said Kerry Erwin, who finished the run around Bluegrass Park with jogging partner Jenny Twitchell.

Both wore huge, green hats Dr. Suess would love.

"And it's a perfect first course," she said. "It's pretty level."

Heather Harmon-Reed, the school's cross country coach in charge of putting on the run, said she was pleased with the turnout. The St. Patrick's Day-themed race, which aimed to raise around $1,000, is scheduled at the end of February or early March because spring sport schedules and other St. Paddy Day-themed races grab other weekends in March.

Yet snow never really ruins it.

"There are so many people who get dressed up," Harmon-Reed said. "They just come out and have a good time."