NOTHING could have stopped the participants in the Jamaica Observer/Gymkhana Absolute Fitness Challenge from running or walking in the inaugural Running Events 5K at Hope Gardens in St Andrew last Sunday. A few of their trainers also joined them along the route.

At the end of the 5K, which saw the participants drenched in sweat, with their bodies still shimmering even after the cool-down routine, the challengers gave the 5K their stamp of approval.

Running Events 5K was Eileen Wapp’s first such event. She told the Jamaica Observer that at points along the path she wondered when the course would end but that it was a good experience.

Jodi Jackson was out of the starting blocks with some of the first runners but to her surprise, instead of them choosing a pace and sticking to that pace for the duration of the race, Jackson said the other runners sprinted.

Trevor Dixon chose a strategy and stuck to it. He chose a random runner and decided that runner would not get too far ahead of him if he was ever to stop running and start walking. It was a back and forth battle and Dixon told the Sunday Observer that he was just about neck and neck with the particular runner on approaching the finishing line and out of nowhere, he got a burst of energy and sprinted across it, finishing before his marker.

In sharing their thoughts on the road race, the challengers appreciated that there were fewer participants in the Running Events 5K, noting that they had more fun because it was not as crowded as other runs. They were therefore allowed to focus on running the course without bumping into anyone. There were some 299 finishers on the day, 160 of which were women.

Evans Taylor, 22, was the first man to cross the finishing line in 17:31 while 27-year-old Juliett Dinnal led the women across the finishing line in 21.19.

Running Events 5K was one of the challenges of the competition; the participants made it their priority to not only show up, but to also follow through.