By Jane Owen
Make plans now to get a healthy start to 2020 by registering for Bloomingdale’s annual 5K.
The Running of the Bulls 5K will be held on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at Bloomingdale High School. The 5K starts and finishes on the track and utilizes the sidewalks, roads and parking lots on campus.
The race, which participants can run or walk, is full of community pride. The Bloomingdale Band Drumline will perform, and student volunteers will cheer for participants. Post-race food includes Chick-fil-A, Panera pastries and bagels and fruit.
Participants will receive a shirt and will be entered into a raffle for donated items from sponsors, including race entries into Tampa’s Gasparilla Distance Classic and gift cards to local businesses. Finishers will receive medals.
2019 Race Winner John Carter from Plant City said he is apt to run the race again, “Because I am competitive, I always want to improve on previous race (times), but with the Running of the Bulls 5K, the pre and post-race activities is the main reason I mark my calendar for the event.”
Made possible by local business sponsorships such as Gold Sponsor Acropolis Greek Taverna, the race is hosted by the Band Boosters and supports the Bloomingdale band and athletic teams. Registrants can choose an athletic team to support during registration. Bloomingdale Lacrosse Coach Matthew Borowski knows the 5K makes a difference.
“These dollars go directly to fund programs to keep high school kids active and busy in a productive way,” he said.
Borowski not only ran the race himself, he encouraged his lacrosse team to participate.
“We participated because of the incentives that the Band Boosters gave our team. We struggle with fundraising dollars and we do not get much support from the district since we are also a pay-for-play varsity sport, so we try to get every dollar that we can. I made it a challenge to all of the team that if they beat me in the 5K that day, they did not have to complete the fitness test on the first day of tryouts. They always love an opportunity to beat me.”
“We enjoyed the atmosphere the most. I thought the Band Boosters did a great job at creating an intimate atmosphere utilizing almost every inch of pavement on the school grounds. It was fun to see how they managed to fit 3.1 miles on campus,” Borowski also noted.
To register, visit https://fitniche.com/event/running-of-the-bulls-5k/.
