People dressed as Harry Potter and friends, Maleficent and other book characters offered words of encouragement for the 38 runners at the 13th annual Readers Become Leaders 5K held at Minot Forest Elementary on Saturday afternoon.

Started by the Wareham Middle School English Language Arts Department, the road race raises money for books, technology and other items to help enrich education at district schools.

Race organizer Nicole Stahmer, who is a physical education teacher at the middle school, said the event generally attracts more than 100 runners.

“Hopefully we can raise some money for the schools even with the low turnout,” she said. “We’re grateful for those who came out today. The community has been great.”

During the event, costumed volunteers read aloud from books as the participants raced by.

Among the readers was the villain from Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent.

Middle school teacher Janice Barton wore the fearsome costume and asked, “Do you think the kids will hand their homework in on time if I wore this to school?”

At the end of the race, awards were handed out to the top three finishers in different age categories.

The first place finisher overall was Anne Preisio of Falmouth with a time of 20:39. The second place place finisher was Brian Lamoureux of Plymouth with a time of 20:53. Benjamin Brogioli, a Wareham Middle School student, finished third overall with a time of 23:05.