Medical School students host 6th annual 5K event

More than 50 runners and walkers took the streets of Vermillion early Saturday morning to compete in a 5K and support a local charity.

Medical student members of the South Dakota State Medical Association and American Medical Association hosted the 6th annual Run for Your Life 5K, with all proceeds given to the Vermillion Food Pantry.

Second-year medical student Beth Hahn said the 5K serves two purposes for organizers and participants.

“Number one, it supports a good cause, supports a local charity,” she said. “It also gets people out and moving which is obviously very important and as medical students, we think it’s very important to get out and get your heart pumping.”

Junior Martha Nickerson has run around four or five 5K races and said she likes the Run for Your Life race because it supports a good cause.

“A lot of people often don’t take the time to support it (the food pantry),” she said. “So it often gets left behind.”

Second-year medical student and organizer Jordan Makela said while registration was lower this year than last, the weather was much better.

“It ran a lot smoother this year, I think we got some things hammered out,” he said.

Hahn said the group has received positive feedback in past years, and this year is no exception.

“People come back year after year and run it again and again and love supporting the good cause, getting a t-shirt and coming together,” she said.