The thought of exercising and being more physically active has increased in students at Pleasant Valley High School. The old fad was to stay home, watch Netflix, or play video games. Recently, more and more teenagers are becoming physically active and living a healthier life.
One thing that has gained popularity are 5K races. This is gaining popularity because more people are realizing that 5K races really aren’t that bad. Many people have the mindset of running being tiring, hard work, and not very fun. People are pushing past this and realizing that it is actually beneficial and somewhat enjoyable. Lilly Meyers, a student at Pleasant Valley, stated “I ran my first 5K over the summer. I was really scared at first but when I got done I realized it wasn’t that bad and I would definitely do it again”.
Not only are 5K’s a great workout for people who don’t run on a daily basis, they also are very beneficial to cross country runners. Shannon Mullen, a cross country member at Pleasant Valley High School, said, “5K races are definitely beneficial for cross country runners. Since cross country is a team sport, our cross country runners have a lot of friends and motivating teammates. Running a 5K with their support and motivation helps a ton with racing. Plus, finishing 5K’s gives cross country runners a drive to improve, which in turn gives them goals to accomplish.”
A local 5K that is coming up soon in our area is the Lagomarcino Cocoa Beano race. This race is being held on Saturday, October 27th at 9:00am. There is a 5K classic, the halloween edition, which is what most runners run. Runners also have the option to run the 10K which is new this year, and the last option is the kids run. In order to sign up for this race runners can go online to the Lagomarcino’s website and enter their information to sign up.
When the race is completed each runner receives a Cocoa Beano race jacket, hot chocolate, and Lagomarcino’s chocolate. Sydney Lear, a former Pleasant Valley Student who now attends Luther College to pursue her running career, stated, “I ran the Lagomarcino Cocoa Beano 5K race in 2016 and won the female 15-19 age division. I really liked this race because it was a cool, sunny October morning and there was a really fun racing atmosphere!”
Mullen had also ran the race before and commented, “I ran the Cocoa Beano Lagomarcino’s race years ago before I started running cross country, and I remember liking it. However, a road race I look forward to running every year is the Turkey Trot. I always get a friend to run it with me and it’s really fun. Plus, running on Thanksgiving morning makes me feel less bad about indulging on Thanksgiving dinner.”
The other 5K race that is coming up is the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, which is November 22nd. This is another race that is especially fun to run with family on Thanksgiving to celebrate the holiday.
5K participation has really improved over the years and should continue to keep improving. Lots of students have ran 5K’s at Pleasant Valley and would recommend it to anyone.
