Niagara College fitness and health students are ‘uknighted’ when it comes to promoting exercise and supporting the community.
Second-year Fitness and Health Promotion students are launching a new event that does both: a 5-km Run and Walk at the Welland Campus on April 8. The charity run will support Train to Treat, a grassroots organization that aims to increase exercise and physical activity for those recovering for addiction.
The event is open to both staff and students, as well as some community partners. It will kick off with pre-event yoga sessions hosted by Lululemon at 12:40 p.m. and 1 p.m. on the front lawn of the Welland Campus (30 spots available in each session, first-come, first-served). Run registration will begin at 1 p.m., and the race will begin at 1:45 p.m., beginning from and ending on the campus front lawn.
Adam Upshaw, program coordinator for Sports Nutrition for Exercise Performance and professor for Fitness and Health Promotion and Exercise Science for Health and Performance, noted that organizing the event was part of their Marketing and Event Planning class.
“This event not only promotes health in the college community and supports the community, it offers valuable experience for our students,” said Upshaw. “Our fitness students are experiencing all aspects of event planning, hosting and marketing strategies, becoming familiar with the skills they may need to run their own business.”
Students been working on organizing the event for the entire term – from planning marketing strategies and sponsorship, to organizing registration and the logistics of the race. On the event day, students will be participating in all aspects of the event – including set-up and clean-up, marking the course, working registration, marshalling, and cheering participants along the way.
Second Year Fitness and Health Promotion student Helen McNish noted that she values the experience she is gaining by planning this event. “I feel that it has provided vital insight into marketing not only ourselves, but also organizing many events for the future. My confidence in approaching companies for sponsorship etc. has grown significantly.,” she said.
She is also proud of how she and her classmates are contributing to the communtiy through the event by supporting what they feel is a worthy cause, Train to Treat.
“Anything that benefits the community and enriches the lives of others can only be a good thing. We also hope to promote fitness and raise awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle,” she said. “The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are endless, both physically and mentally; we believe that not all of these benefits are known, so any opportunity to raise awareness is one that we relish.”
n addition to raising funds for Train to Treat, donations will also be collected for a local food bank. Participants are asked to donate $2 to register or donate a non-perishable food item.
This will be the first year for the event and so far more than 70 participants are expected to participate – the event can accommodate 200 registered runners.
For information and registration visit uknightednc.wixsite.com/uknighted or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UKNIGHTED_5K.
