From the crack of dawn Sunday, rousing music blared from the East end of Liberty Street and Ann Arbor residents waved red, white and blue banners and balloons.

Although the festivities did occur on the most patriotic of American holidays, the celebration had little do to with the U.S.A.

More than 800 runners and hundreds more family members and well-wishers turned out for the Firecracker 5K, a 10-year Fourth of July tradition in downtown Ann Arbor.

Race sponsor Champions for Charity emphasized a family-fun atmosphere for the 2010 edition of the Firecracker 5K, promoting that the race was for runners, walkers, people with strollers, the young and old. And the payoff was evident.

Racers ranged from age 5 to 85 and everywhere in between.

“We had a great mix of people this year, which was great,” Champions for Charity assistant manager Will Smith said. “And it was really exciting to get as many kids to come out as we did. To be able to motivate them toward a healthy lifestyle.”

Proceeds from the event went to Fit Kids Champions and the U-M Hospital’s Healthy Schools program. The two charities are a great partnership, since one focuses on eating right and the other promotes fitness and exercise.

After the 100-meter dash for youngsters, the day’s events were timed to coincide with the Ann Arbor parade.

But it wasn’t all fun-and-games — even with the family-friendly atmosphere, there was a still a race to be won. Nicholas Katsefaras, running in the 20-24 division, won the overall race with a time of 15 minutes, 40 seconds, and Monica Joyce, running in the 50-54 age bracket, was the fastest female racer, clocking in at 17:11.

The Southeast Michigan running community was glad to see the Firecracker 5K back. After putting the race on for nine consecutive Fourth of Julys, the sponsors took last year off, allowing Champions for Charity to come in and promote kids’ fitness with this year’s edition.

“We missed it a lot last year,” said Ann Arbor local Wolfgang Dozauer, who won the 65-69 age division. “You know, this race is what got my wife and I into running, and we’ve done it every year.”

Dozauer, who finished the race in 33 minutes, said he was happy with his time, especially since he’s still recovering from a quintuple bypass surgery from a few years ago. He keeps active by running, playing tennis and skiing.

Dozauer raved about the race — especially the addition of the University of Michigan Diag to the course, which happened out of necessity due to the construction on North University Avenue.

“I liked that part very much,” Dozauer said. “I went to Michigan as a student, and when we were running through the Diag, they played The Yellow and The Blue (The Michigan alma mater), and that really gave me an extra boost for some reason.”

Andy Reid covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at andrewreid@annarbor.com.