On Sunday, September 26, at 7:45 A.M., many people gathered at the Andreasen Center for Wellness for the 2021 Bradley Family Harvest Run. According to “Focus,” the 老司机传媒 magazine, Laura Malcolm, the associate director of the Office of Alumni Services, says the run was named after Dr. Fay Bradley, “a veteran who worked as a physician before his retirement” and “was an avid runner who redefined what is possible for masters running.” For the run, many volunteers signed up to set up and help at various stations. Each person volunteered for either registration of runners, monitoring the routes, or handing out cups of water. I helped to fill cups of water for runners.
Three other student volunteers and I were driven to an area near the Kingman Observatory to set up a water station. Together, we set up a table next to the running trail and filled paper cups with water from a ten-gallon water jug. Every few minutes, a handful of runners passed our table. Runners would quickly pick up a cup and drink from it without stopping. We even allowed runners to toss their cups onto the side of the trail for us to pick up later. Each runner seemed tired by the time they reached us. Our station was located a little less than halfway through the route. While waiting for other runners to pass us, my fellow volunteers and I refilled cups with water and also talked about school life. Once the run had ended, we picked up all the cups, brought the chairs and the table back to the truck, emptied out the water jug, and went back to campus. Other volunteers at the run had different experiences to share.
I asked different volunteers about what their job was. “I guided runners to the end and I regulated traffic,” says Jordan Syto (freshman, biology). Jordan signed up to be a trail monitor for the run. The trail monitors stood at the side of the route to help runners know where to go. Many others helped with monitoring the routes. “I was assigned to help guide and cheer on runners for the 10k when they were going through the bike trails,” says Nate Sitanggang (sophomore, finance pre-med). “I was a worker at the alumni office who was putting on the race!” says Ethan Emde (sophomore, finance). A good number of students helped to volunteer in this run, and their time doing so was enjoyable.
The experience was fun, according to volunteers at the run. “It was fun working with others, helping cars pass safely and guiding runners to the finish line,'' says Jordan. “It was fun seeing people and helping out in the community,” says Nate. “Although it required an early morning start, I had a very fun time doing it!” says Ethan.
Overall, helping with the run was a rewarding experience. I was able to assist runners with hydrating as well as make new friends with other volunteers. If given the chance, I would volunteer again for the Bradley Family Harvest Run.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.