Memorial 5K Run

On Saturday, I went and helped out at the Flying Feet Burk Memorial 5K Run for my sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma.  The run was about five minutes away from campus at a place called the Wakefield Valley Community Trail, and it was a running club that put the whole thing together.  I went with three of my sorority sisters.  We were quite a sight to see at 7:30 in the morning!  We were all bundled up in order to combat the cold weather of the early morning.

When we got to the location, we were at a corner which marked the two-mile mark of the 5K (a 5K is a little more than three miles).  We met Sam Lopez, who works for the CEO on campus, there.  She told us that we would be working the water station at the corner, but that due to the cold, most people wouldn’t want water.  If we weren’t handing out water, we could also cheer the runners on and give them our support.  She also told us that we would be working with Middle School and High School students that are involved in the Higher Learning Program.  Before we started, Sam wanted to read something to us from a book that was written by the director of Flying Feet.  Since Sam and I know each other and she knows I’m a Secondary Education minor, she asked me to read the passage to everyone, since I could practice my “teacher voice.”  Since there ended up being so many volunteers from different campus organizations (Gamma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Phi Omega, and Phi Delta Theta), we ended up splitting up and becoming different cheering sections. We situated ourselves half-way up the hill that was the last obstacle between the runners and the finish line, while another group went to the finish line to congratulate people on being done.  As runners started to come by, we cheered for them to encourage them.

There were two fantastic things about this service project.  The first was that the runners seemed grateful to have our support as they were going up the large hill and many of them thanked us.  The second was that it really inspired me to get myself in shape so that I can run a 5K in the near future.  My real goal is to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon, which takes place every February.  Since I’m nowhere near ready, that won’t happen for a while, but in order to train for it, I have to start small!  So, it’s time to get myself in shape and run a 5K!