Third annual Hopkins 5K

The summer months between semesters are a time for Rockhurst University students to work, serve or just relax. But for a select group of students, it’s time they needed to keep a good cause going.

Just weeks after the Kansas City Sports Commission officially recognized the Hopkins, Skip, and Run 5K as the best small event in the greater Kansas City area last spring, members of the Zeta Eta chapter of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and the Kappa Epsilon chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity were hard at work getting ready for the third annual event, scheduled to be held Saturday, Sept. 22.

Meghan Lang, a Lincoln, Neb., junior, who is a co-chair for the event, is excited at all of the progress that has been made for the event, which they hope will be the most attended with more than 400 entries. 

“The event just keeps getting bigger and better every year and we just want to keep making it successful,” she said. “This year, we’re going to have electronic timers, which we hope will draw more competitive runners.”

Currently, the group is preparing to continue expanding its marketing to more of the metro area.

The money raised by the event goes to the Nelson E. Hopkins Jr. Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is in memory of Nelson E. Hopkins Jr., an aspiring Alta Vista Charter School student who, in December of 2009, was gunned down while walking home from the library. The four-year scholarship is given to a student from Alta Vista Charter School who will attend college.

To date, more than $5,000 has been raised for the scholarship.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish and I’ve really enjoyed doing it,” Lang said.

For more information about the race or to register, you can visit the events website at www.hopkins5k.org.