Ready, Set, Serve 5K race: will take place March 31 at 9 a.m. as part of the St. Vincent Parish 175th Anniversary celebration. The race begins and ends in St. Vincent-St. Mary Green Street Stadium with part of the race taking place on the Ohio Erie Canal Towpath along a portion of the Akron Marathon trail.
The event also includes individual runners and three-person relay teams. Race organizers welcome walkers, too. Entry fee is $17.50 per runner (in honor of the 175th Anniversary). Registered runners will receive a tech (dry fit) shirt. Proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity in memory of Frank Horn and St. Vincent Elementary School. The St. Vincent Parent Association sponsors this race.
Download a registration form at http://www.stvincentelementary.comdocuments/5k2012_001.pdf.
Registration forms with checks may be mailed to the church. Please designate 5k on the envelope. Checks should be made out to St. Vincent Parent Association.
St. Vincent Church
164 West Market Street
Akron, Ohio 44303-2373
I spoke with Gina Mendiola, one of the initiator and coordinators of the race, about how the race came about. Many factors and people contributed to the race coming together. The Principal of St. Vincent Elementary is Tim Tawney. Ironically, he has been in every Akron Marathon since the beginning. Because St. Vincent Elementary’s motto is “To Learn; To Learn to Serve; To Learn to Serve with Love," it’s appropriate the name of the race is Ready, Set, Serve 5K race. It’s also referred to as 175 and running, because St. Vincent church is celebrating its 175th Anniversary.
Why a run? Mendiola, along with Sonya Presper, the co-initiator and coordinator of the race, figured there were a bunch of parent runners in the Parish. Because they had two successful walk-a-thon charity fundraisers, in the past two years, they thought to approach the principal about a race for this year. Jim Tawney had been thinking about the health and wellness the school and thought it was a good idea to bring it up with Father Kraker, the Parish pastor. Great idea.
Once the decision for the race was set, Mendiola spoke to the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School track coach, Dan Lancianese, about his thoughts on the race. The very next day, Lancianese was so enthused with the idea, he already figured out the entire route for the race. He was the right person to talk to about planning the race, incidentally, because he won the Coach of the Year for Akron Touchdown Club and the Dapper Dan Award.
Finally, the race is in memory of Frank Horn, former active parishioner of St. Vincent Parish. Mendiola said he did so much for the Parish and both school communities they wanted to honor his loss by the having the proceeds benefit Habitat of Humanity in his honor as well as St. Vincent Elementary.
If you have questions about the race, call or email Mendiola at (330) 869-5784 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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