On Friday, Nov. 15, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Recreation hosted the annual 5C5K Wellness Fair. The 3.1-mile race began at 12:00 p.m. at Zinda Field, taking participants through all five of the Claremont Colleges before concluding at the Wellness Fair outside Roberts Pavilion, which featured booths with food and wellness-related activities led by students and local businesses.
Race participants were given the option to run, walk or bike, with some participants receiving t-shirts after successfully completing the race.
Although the race began under hailing conditions that quickly shifted to rain, the weather cleared by the end of the event. Jonathan Hernandez PO ’28, a participant in the race, discussed the challenges that the rain posed for the run.
“[The race] did get a bit hard around the second mile just because there were so many pools of water around and we had to jump or stop and walk around them which sort of put a halt to some of the rhythms we were getting into when we were running,” Hernandez said.
Naomi Locala PO ’25, another participant, was surprised by the harsh weather.
“We were definitely not expecting the extreme weather, but it made it fun,” Locala said. “Classic Claremont weather.”
Locala, who ran the race with her friend, Jade Hudson CM ’25, said the race gave them a great opportunity to compete together. Both are swimmers, but Locala swims for Pomona-Pitzer (PP) and Hudson swims for CMS.
Hudson said they have always wanted to run the race, noting the bonus of the free prizes at the wellness fair.
“We thought for our senior year, we should take the opportunity together,” Hudson said. “The free acai and booths are also really nice and a big motivation.”
Some students and community members also attended the race to support those competing, including Sophia Prosper CM ’27, who said she was cheering for her two friends.
“I needed to support them rain or shine,” Prosper said. “I had to show up and show out. I’m going to sit and read and track their locations, and I’ll be there to support them at the finish line.”
The Wellness Fair featured various booths centered around both mental and physical wellness. One booth offered attendees supplies for making facial masks, while another provided them with acai from Ubatuba. The booths also provided attendees with much-needed shelter from the rain.
Elisa Laloudakis SC ’26, a Tiernan Peer Health Educator, ran the facial mask booth. Laloudakis said the event was a fun way to promote important health-related topics like destressing and relaxation.
“There’s a heavy workload with being a student and people just have life going on, so it can be hard to juggle all of it,” Laloudakis said. “It’s important to prioritize yourself and engage in these small but fun activities.”
Hernandez similarly shared appreciation for the event. In addition to providing an outlet for his love of running, Hernandez said that the race lived up to its name because its route passed through each of the 5Cs.
“I think that [the race] was really great because we all did it here at the 5Cs,” Hernandez said. “We all sort of knew each other and we were very supportive of each other and that was something I really appreciated about this particular 5K.”
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