Over 100 atoms and their supporters took their marks Sunday morning at the annual AHS booster sponsored event: the Atoms 5k. The race, which takes place in the neighborhoods surrounding AHS, is organized every year to provide athletic scholarships to student athletes at Annandale.
“We award four $1,000 scholarships and then this year, one of our sponsors that we got, Big Teams, we ended up getting another $1,000 from them so we have five scholarships this year, so there will be five student athletes who get scholarships for college,” Boosters Vice President Milan Peich said.
Peich spent the race directing the runners through the course, and shouting words of encouragement.
“This is my first year organizing. I’ve helped for the past 5 years but the race has been going on since the 1990’s,” Peich said.
To win the scholarship, all students need to do is fill out the form on the Annandale Atoms website by May 1 and then the winners will be chosen based on a generated point system.
The first person to cross the finish line was Dagim Tigabu, junior and long-distance runner with the Annandale Track and Cross Country teams.
“I got a 17:40 [this year] and last year I came in around 18:50,” Tigabu said.
Tigabu was closely followed by his twin brother Mahatim, and Risky Alvardo. This is the third year Tigabu has competed in the race, and the second year he has won it.
“I did a couple of mile runs, like 8 to 9 miles, last week [to prepare for the race],” Tigabu said.
He felt positive about his time, saying that “hopefully [he’ll] come back next year and run again.”
Finishing soon after was Coach Ivy Jordan. Jordan ran the race alongside at least 10 or 12 runners from her distance track group. The race is not only an opportunity for the Annandale community to come together for a cause, it serves as a warmup for the cross country season.
“It’s great to see where they are all at. Some of them have never done cross country this so it is a great way for them to kind of understand how long of a race it is and what they have to look forward to. So yeah, it’s perfect” Jordan said.
Overall, Jordan was pleased with the runners’ performances.
“They all did very, very well for having to run a 5k after running track, which are all shorter events, considering that, they did very well” Jordan said.
She was proud of her own improvement as well.
“This was my third year doing the race,” Jordan said. “I actually did much better this year. Each year, I’ve been able to shave off some time and this was my best year.”
The race has long been a tradition at Annandale, attracting runners of various ages, and it is a great way to get the whole community involved and exercising.
“I think [the 5k] is a great thing for the community,” Peich said. “I mean you get kids of all ages coming out here. We get the elementary schools and the pyramid schools involved. We get the faculty and the neighborhoods to come out; there are people out here on their porches watching the race so I think it’s a great thing.”
Along with the sound of cheers from bystanders and community members attending or watching the race, the AHS marching band was there to help motivate runners with upbeat songs, as well as to play the national anthem.
“[The band is] playing the fight song, the star spangled banner and some more songs as people cross the finish line,” junior Karla Mejia said. “[We play songs at the race every year] because they are happy and they make people happy.”
Throughout the course, volunteers helped direct the runners, cheered them on, took times, prepared the start and finish lines and handed out water. Sophomore Lennon Wuhrer spent the race handing out and preparing cups of water for the runners.
“Coach Hook asked us to volunteer to help at the girls lacrosse water station,” Wuhrer said. “I ran in the race last year.”
AHS students love to get involved in the race, because it is a community event.
“It was lovely,” Wuhrer said.
Volunteers, runners and community members all converge on the day of the Atoms 5k to support AHS and the athletes therein, and Sunday was no exception to the tradition of a fun and successful race.