Whether for recreation or competition, running is a popular hobby among Harding students. This fall a number of organizations throughout Arkansas will host races for various causes.
Searcy held its first 5K on Sept. 15 with Searcy’s second annual Chili’s 5Queso run. Participants were able to walk/run this 5K in downtown Searcy and proceeds supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Senior Laura Chambers spent her morning at the race.
“To me it’s not only a good way to exercise and physically use your body for what God created it to do, but it’s also a great way to serve others,” Chambers said.
The event was Chambers’ first 5K and she is currently training for a half marathon. She said the race helped her get a feel for competing against others, herself and her time.
Upcoming local and statewide races will also be occurring throughout the semester. The third annual Micah Rine Wildcat Legacy race will be held Saturday, Oct. 6 at 8 a.m., beginning at Harding Academy. The event consists of both a 1K and 5K walk/run and proceeds will benefit the Micah Rine Wellness Room at Harding Academy.
The annual Bison Stampede 5K Run will be held during homecoming weekend on Oct. 27. Registration begins at 8 a.m. in front of the student center.
Senior Kendra Isenberg ran in the stampede last fall and plans to do so again this year.
“It’s a good time in the fall,” Isenberg said. “There weren’t too many people and not too few, so it was fun.”
On the state level, both the Race for the Cure and The Color Run will be held at the state’s capital this fall.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock is the world’s largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks, according to its website. The event raises funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer.
“[Race for the Cure is] really cool, because there are two different emotions,” junior Jill Baber said. “You have the fun, exciting emotion, because you have people cheering you on, but then you have thousands of people who are there with names on their backs, supporting someone or remembering someone that they lost.”
Baber has participated in Race for the Cure three times and strongly supports the event, having lost loved ones to breast cancer and knowing women who have survived from the disease.
“You want to keep doing it because you want to see a cure,” Baber said.
Partnering with Little Rock Parks and Recreation, The Color Run will be held at the city’s Riverfront Park at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10. According to its website, the goal of this run is for participants to focus on the experience more than the competition.
Runners wear white shirts and each kilometer of the event is associated with a designated color; yellow, orange, pink or blue. By the end of the three-mile run participants are covered in color from head to toe.
