Mid-Ohio Psychological Services 5K gets solid support Saturday
By SEAN GOLDEN
Sports Writer
spgolden@nncogannett.com
LANCASTER – There were men, women, children and even a few dogs who participated in the first Strides for Mental Health 5K Walk/Run in downtown Lancaster on Saturday morning.
The event was organized by Mid-Ohio Psychological Services on East Main Street. About 125 runners and walkers participated in the race.
Eric Rini, 44, finished first in the 40- to 49-year old age bracket. Rini is a counselor at New Horizons Youth and Family Center, and has been a mental health counselor for 20 years.
“I’m here to support mental health,” Rini said.
Rini said the race was challenging but fun. “It was a little tough,” he said. “I think I got out a little too quick. But the course was nice. It was a really good race.”
Rini said there were plenty of volunteers from Mid-Ohio and spectators along the route to root on the participants.
Mid-Ohio Board Chairman Will Sharp participated in the race, and said he felt the event was well organized and supported.
“It was a great turnout. I think it exceeded our expectations,” Sharp said. “It was a great time, and hopefully we’ll be able to do it in the future.”
The course for participants began and ended at the corner of Broad and Main streets, with the route going through Cenci Lake Park.
Overall female winner Melissa Adam, 35, said she enjoyed the day’s festivities.
“It was very well-organized,” Adam said. “The fact that the course was actually an out-and-back, and that you could see all the people cheering you on motivated you to go faster.”
After the race was concluded, volunteers from Mid-Ohio Psychological Services Inc. helped give out raffle items that ranged from T-shirts to gift certificates.
Adam and overall male winner, Bill Black, were given plaques for their finishes, and the Top 3 finishers for each age group were presented with medals.
Executive Director of Mid-Ohio, Brad Hedges, said that the event was put together for simple but very important reasons.
“We want to increase awareness of mental health issues,” Hedges said. “Our main purpose was just to let people know about mental-health services, to kind of let them know that we exist.”
Hedges said many of the staff and board members at Mid-Ohio are avid runners, and so the 5K seemed like a natural idea.
“We had great sponsors,” Hedges said. “May is mental health awareness month, so this is kind of a kickoff.
Rini said that he believed many people came out to Saturday’s event to show their support for organizations that offer services like the ones provided by Mid-Ohio.
“I think a lot of people would choose to run a race like this instead of another race because of the cause,” Rini said.
“(People would run) to just support and give money to mental health. I think it’s a very big issue not just here, but everywhere. And so it’s great to see that people are coming out and supporting it.”
Originally published April 27, 2008
The first Strides for Mental Health 5K Walk/Run, organized by Mid-Ohio Psychological Services Inc., took place in downtown Lancaster on Saturday morning. Here are the top overall finishers and winners from each age bracket:
OVERALL WINNERS
· Male: Bill Black, 44, 18:13
· Female: Melissa Adam, 35, 21:29
MALE AGE GROUP WINNERS
· 20-29: Chris Gary, 19:09
· 30-39: Zack Deleon, 21:14
· 40-49: Eric Rini, 19:53
· 50-59: Lee Wright, 22:47
· 60-plus:Ken Godsey
Female age group winners
· 20-29: Kate Blake, 26:40
· 30-39: Julie Cruze, 23:08
· 40-49: Jodi Miller, 27:38
· 50-59: Malinda Hinton, 43:05
· 60-plus:Karin Hildreth, 44:50