Galveston County Daily News (Internet / Print) 02/18/06 http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=74f3b3607be0daa8 Today’s Mardi Gras celebration gets off to a running start with the Mardi Gras Beach Run at the Stewart Beach Pavilion. The 5K run/walk starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 10K race at 8:50 a.m. The final event of the day is the Kids 1K run, scheduled for 9:45 a.m. The Mardi Gras run was a staple of the local running calendar throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. After the demise of its original sponsor, St. Mary’s Hospital, the race vanished briefly. It roared back seven years ago with a new course and new beneficiaries, the Galveston County YMCA and the UTMB Physical Therapy Students Association.