Around 100 participants turned out in 30-degree weather to participate in the 22nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. 5K run and fitness walk Saturday morning.
“It is cold, but I thought it was going to be colder,” Mary Bowie said. Bowie and her 16-year-old daughter, Maria, both from Columbia, had gotten up early – around 6 a.m. – to walk in the race.
“But this is good,” she said. “We can warm up as we walk.”
John Charlton, 45, runs alongside his son, Isaac Charlton, 10, both of Columbia, in Saturday's race.
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Runners turned out in 30-degree weather Saturday for the 22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. 5K Run and Fitness Walk.
/MINDY LUCAS/MLUCAS@THESTATE.COM
Ryan Plexico, 28, of Columbia, was the winner of Saturday's MLK 5K Run and Fitness Walk. Plexico finished with a time of 17 minutes, 2 seconds.
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Sponsored by King’s fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, the small but popular foot race is a favorite among area runners looking for a post-New Year’s race to keep them competitive as well as those wanting to honor King.
“I’m working on my times right now,” said Jennifer Reeves of Lugoff. A member of the Strictly Running fitness club, Reeves said she wished it were a little warmer but enjoyed being out and running.
“And it’s for a good cause, so that’s doubly good,” Reeves said.
First started in 1990, the race was a way for the fraternity’s Columbia chapters to mark the late Baptist minister and civil rights leader’s birthday.
“We wanted a way to stress health, fitness and education as well,” said Brian Gaines, immediate past president of the Omicron Iota Lambda alumni chapter. The fraternity has five chapters in Columbia – three college and two alumni chapters.
Both Gaines and Sam Armstrong, vice president of the chapter, were out early in 27-degree weather, helping to set up tables and dispatching volunteers to check points.
Each year, Gaines said fraternity members select a different charity as way of helping to raise awareness of other causes. Funds raised at this year’s race will go to the Curtis Frye Foundation. The foundation, started by USC’s head track and field coach Curtis Frye and his wife Wilma in 2011, works to help individuals with diabetes and mental illness and their families.
Gaines said that was something he was particularly interested in, given the high numbers of diabetes cases among African-Americans in the community.
“I certainly hope it helps,” Gaines said. “My sister has it.”
Also at the race were members of Alpha Phi Alpha’s other chapters from around the state who had driven in to volunteer.
Their participation, both Armstrong and Gaines said, is part of the fraternity’s “Alpha Academy” – a nine-month program that includes mandatory community service. The mentoring program helps younger members with resume writing, career development, leadership skills and financial planning.
“It prepares them for college,” Armstrong said.
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