Campus Recreation held its second annual Spring Fling 5k Run on Sunday to help raise money for N.C. State club teams to be able to afford to go to Nationals.
Participants gathered along the starting line at 10:30 a.m for a 3.1 mile loop around Centennial Campus. Some contestants looked like they could sprint around the entire course, while others needed to keep a slow and steady pace so they could finish the race.
Dasha Karelov, a senior in paper science and chemical engineering, was the women’s first place winner, finishing the course in 21 minutes and 37 seconds.
Karelov, a frequent participant in charity races, ran the 5k last year to help support the ski and snowboard club. She returned this year because she enjoys running and wanted to help out.
“I just like running some races, and this one is pretty low key,” said Karelov.
The men’s winner, Sebron Jessup, a senior in agricultural science, finished in 17 minutes and 22 seconds.
“I knew I ran the kind of race I wanted to run and I had given it everything I had to give,” said Jessup. “It was a lot of fun. I had my fiancé waiting at the finish line for me, so what could be better?”
Jessup, who is also in club cross country and runs about 60 miles a week, said that the hardest part about the course were the hills, but they went by pretty quickly once he got into the flow.
As the finish line came into sight, Jessup had to find the motivation to finish out strong.
“You had to really decide you wanted to do it, and go all out, give it everything you have and not hold anything back,” said Jessup. “I thought about how I wanted to feel after the race rather than how I felt right then, which made me push harder.”
This year the event had 56 participants, including both students and non-affiliates. Sponsors such as Omega, Athletes Foot, and Team Connections donated prizes and offered giveaways.
Men’s and women’s first and second place winners took home prize packs including gift cards and apparel. First place winner’s prize packs included a visor, a water bottle, an Adidas book bag, a $20 gift card to Omega and a $75 gift card to Athletes Foot.
“The most successful part of the day was that everyone had a lot of fun,” Student Director for Club Sports Bailey Wilson said. “Everyone stayed around to see who won the prizes. Everyone was cheering everyone on even if they didn’t know each other.”
Campus Recreation holds two events to help raise money for Club sports: the Spring Fling 5k and Cornhole-A-Palooza. This is only the second year that these events have been held, so the coordinators are still finding ways to make them the best that they can be.
After the positive response following Friday‘s Cornhole-A-Palooza, Campus Recreation is planning on partnering with Intramural Sports so that they can combine the two events, making one big event with food and a band.
