Over the weekend, friends and family members from the Frassati community gathered to participate in the fourth annual Frassati 5k. Despite needing to move this gathering to a virtual event, our Falcons rallied and made this a benchmark year!

Four years ago, two parent volunteers brought their love for races to Frassati and launched the first ever 5k. Since then the event has grown year after year, and is now a fall tradition that everyone looks forward to.

Like many organizations have faced, navigating the nuances of a virtual event felt tricky at first. However, as we have seen from this amazing community since the start of the pandemic, Frassati students and family members quickly pivoted to participate in new ways. Teams were created, registration numbers climbed daily, and an amazing group of sponsors were secured.

As the race weekend approached, staff members distributed race packets to the classrooms, and Melissa Gacek, the lead volunteer coordinator for this event, made final preparations out on the race course.

On Friday afternoon, as students were leaving school for the day, they were greeted with an exciting surprise. In addition to the beautiful weather, students were able to run onto the field, cross through the start line arch, wave hello to the Mitsubishi bear, and receive a ‘good luck on your 5k’ cheer from Father Talbot.

Race participants were given the course map and were able to complete their 5k at any time, between Thursday, October 8 and Sunday, October 11.

As the virtual event came to a close, Frassati celebrated a hugely successful year with 445 race participants and over $28,000 raised, beating the previous year’s numbers.

The money raised from this event will help cover operational costs and is a flagship fundraising event that supports the ongoing success of Frassati Catholic Academy.

Over the weekend, many teams shared pictures from their virtual event. To see more, be sure to check the hashtags #frassati5k2020 #runforkidsandeducation #fcafalconpride #frassaticatholicacademy and #gofrassatifalcons on Facebook and Instagram. Here are a few from the tags:

 

On behalf of the entire Frassati community, we want to take a moment to share our gratitude and appreciation for everyone who participated in this year’s event. Thank you for all you did to make the 2020 5k a success, and for helping us reach new goals!