Percival’s Island Natural Area was flooded with runners on March 21 as people of all ages participated in the Fifth Annual Big Game 5K Run/Walk.
The event is a fundraiser hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg, an organization that provides recreational and educational spaces for young people in the area. This year, the club saw its largest Big Game 5K turnout to date, with over 200 registered runners and walkers.
Normally, this event is held on a date close to the Super Bowl, hence the title. However, due to several weeks of rough weather conditions, it was postponed until mid-March. Those in attendance were encouraged to don merch from their favorite sports teams in true Big Game spirit.
“It’s a matter of people supporting what we do, which is really important. And also … community support for community events in general … we have a lot of people in the city who are avid runners, so that’s great,” CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg Stephanie Reed said.
The Boys & Girls Club has been providing local youth with opportunities to learn and have fun for more than 20 years. The organization orients its projects toward those in circumstances where a good community may be difficult to find. It offers events and programs from sports to art to workforce readiness and leadership training for students ages 6 to 18.
To many, this race was an outlet to be in the community locally, such as Lynchburg resident Roderick Williams Jr., 31, who recovered from an injury and recently got back into running. Participating alongside a friend, Williams finished the race in seventh place with a time of 20:58.
Although it was marketed locally, the event managed to pull people from far outside the community. Jaime Sweiderk, 17, is a cross-country, track and triathlon athlete from Florida who wanted something to do while touring Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
“We were looking for 5Ks in the area to do for fun, and we came across this one,” Sweiderk said. “I saw that there were some fast times from last year, so I was hoping there would be some people to help push me to get a PR (personal record) today.”
Sweiderk won first place in women’s overall with a time of 21:06. Asher Brown, 15, posted the fastest time of the day at 18:06, with Jeff Harrington, 55, close behind at 18:24.
The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg will continue hosting events through the spring and summer, including a pickleball tournament in May and a golf tournament in August. More information about the organization can be found on its website.
Blabey is an off-campus news reporter for the Liberty Champion.