Spartan Sprint 5K Celebrates 10 Years of Lending a Helping Hand

Runners and walkers ranging in age from 5 to 80 lined up for the annual Spartan Sprint 5K Run/Walk on September 21 at Northampton Community College's (NCC) Bethlehem campus. This year marks the race’s 10th anniversary and raised over $4,000 for students in need.

To date, the event has raised over $27,000 to help NCC students who struggle with financial difficulties. Proceeds are used for grocery store gift cards, gas cards, and assistance with textbook purchases and utility bills.  

The Spartan Sprint began in 2014. Shortly after starting at NCC, Beatriz Messina, associate professor of counseling, kept hearing about “big, hairy, audacious goals,” or BHAGs. With one year at NCC under her belt, Messina set out to pursue a BHAG of her own. Seeking to combine her love for running and social work (Messina is a licensed social worker), she put out a call for volunteers and the Spartan Sprint 5K Run/Walk was born.

“It is amazing to me what we can all accomplish when get together for a good cause and how much a small group of people can accomplish when they put their minds to it,” says Messina. “My hope is that the Spartan Sprint 5K Run/Walk continues to grow each year so that we can help more students who struggle financially.”

The race has evolved over the years. There have been improvements to the course, a costume contest the year the race occurred around Halloween, and a trail running version one year – but one thing has remained constant, the desire of the campus community to support its students, especially those facing challenges.

This year’s race featured 95 runners and walkers. Mark Latvakoski took the top overall male spot with a time of 16:38, and Samantha Tripi took the top overall female spot with a time of 25:20. Awards were handed out to top finishers across eight age categories.  

Raffle prizes included gift certificates from Aardvark Sports Shop, Bodacious Salon, Keystone Running Store, Ready Set Run, and Steel Fitness Premier, tickets for Touchstone Theatre, and water bottles.

Members of the men’s and women’s volleyball teams assisted with race set-up, and 36 volunteers helped make the event a success. NCC Public Safety officers also assisted on race day, while the Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company provided traffic control.

This year’s committee members included Devereux Albarelli, assistant professor, online learning information services librarian; Gerri Bunnion O’Dowd, coordinator for the Science Resource Center; Donna Danner, community relationship manager for PSECU; Maria Dietrich, associate director of international student services; Laura Salley, counselor; Tiffany Whitehead, associate academic advisor; and of course, Messina.