Community members met at New Mexico State University on Saturday, Oct. 14 to participate in a Gratitude Walk/Run for a celebration of the school year’s blessings. The 5K and 1-mile fun run was hosted by Marketing and Communications. The department’s goals in hosting the walk/run were to show off the campus’s natural beauty, bring the community together, and celebrate the good things that have happened this past semester.
The 5k and 1-mile fun run displayed the campus to participating runners. Starting at Aggie Memorial Stadium, and passing through various parts of campus, runners got to see different campus landmarks. Baylee Banks, an event coordinator for the 5k described the route of the race.
“Our race starts close to the northwest side of the [Aggie Memorial Stadium], and then participants will get to run through the stadium, and then they’re going to pass some significant points along campus. The 1-mile fun run is also going to pass some pretty cool places like Presley Askew Field and Chamisa Village,” Banks said.
People came from El Paso, and even other states, to join NMSU students in the race. It is an event that brings runners together and unifies them around the concept of gratefulness.
“[The race is] just a good way to get everybody together and kind of you know, just celebrate everything that has been going well this year,” stated Banks.
According to Banks, the race couldn’t have happened without the 100 volunteers who helped in various roles. Some volunteers handed out water bottles and swag bags, while others cheered the runners on and directed them to the right way to go.
At the end of the race, volunteers handed out participation medals to the runners. No matter how far runners made it, or how fast they completed the race, everyone got a medal. 5k runner Chloe Uckele expressed her appreciation for the medals.
“The medals were very cute! I liked them and it’s a nice way to end the race. It made it feel more special that I finished the 5k and it’s something I can remember it by,” Uckele said.
Other activities were available for people who weren’t running. This made it a true community event that everyone could be a part of.
The astronomy department set up a telescope and handed out glasses so people could view the solar eclipse, which was happening on the same day.
“It was pretty cool! I love stargazing, so using the telescope was really fun,” said Al Marie Stoltz, a student who ran the 1-mile fun run.
Another undertaking available to the community was a gratitude sticker activity. Students and community members had the opportunity to write what they were grateful for on stickers.
“Everybody is showing up for their own unique purpose, right? So, we’ll even have little stickers where people can write down what they’re grateful for, the reason why they’re there, [and] why they’re going to be there on Saturday,” Banks said.
After the race, students expressed that the event was an overall positive experience.
“I would definitely do it again! I think it was fun and I’m glad that I did it for a second time [after the color run],” said Uckele.
