Norfolk, Virginia – Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk’s Norfolk Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) fitness team hosted its annual “Run for a Cause Color Run” 5K at McClure Field on Naval Station Norfolk, July 12, 2024.
Anthony Benning, the NAVSTA Norfolk MWR fitness director, and his team, started the “Run for a Cause Color Run” 5K series in 2017 as a way for participants to choose their specific cause. The participants, including Sailors, their families, civilians and children from the childcare centers on NAVSTA Norfolk, were invited to wear shirts representing their cause of choice. Causes chosen ranged from sexual assault prevention to mental health awareness.
This year’s event was coordinated by Jeff Lowe, the fitness facility coordinator for MWR Fitness Sports. Lowe and 55 MWR staff and volunteers began the set up for the event at 7:00 a.m., preparing refreshment tables, an inflatable finish line, colorful powder containers and sprayers for the run. Soon after, 5K participants began arriving to check in and get warmed up for the run.
The race kicked off officially at 9:30 a.m. As runners left the starting line, MWR staff sprayed them with a rainbow of vibrant powders, coating them in an entire spectrum of colors as they took off down Moffett Avenue, which runs parallel to McClure Field toward Dillingham Boulevard.
The run path would lead participants down through NAVSTA Norfolk’s Admirals Row, down toward the piers and loop back around the coast of Willoughby Bay, passing Vista point along their route. They would eventually finish back at McClure Field within the stadium.
Once they cross the finish line, MWR staff blasted runners with a second wave of colored powder.
The first to cross the finish, with a time of 21:35, was David Perez, a French visitor to the base for the run. Following Perez came Lt. Cmdr. Evan Koho, from the Defense Logistics Agency, who ran to support his Sailors.
“My Sailors asked me to participate with them, so I did,” said Koho. “It was a very fun and a great way to build comradery with my team.”
Not long after Koho, many more runners would cross the finish and receive a vibrant hued bath. As runners finished the run, MWR staff offered refreshments and areas to relax while the participants recovered. Furthermore, available to competitors were a wide array of pamphlets and information from MWR on tickets to amusement parks and MWR trips.
For more information of upcoming MWR at NAVSTA Norfolk or the surrounding installations event, please visit https://www.navylifema.com/events
Date Taken: | 07.12.2024 |
Date Posted: | 07.22.2024 09:00 |
Story ID: | 476706 |
Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
Web Views: | 22 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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