(May 18th, 2019–Jersey City, NJ) Explore Middle School hosted its first annual 5K Walk Run with the help of the Hudson County Schools of Technology Foundation, the Explore parents, students, staff, and community members.
People from all over Hudson County were invited to participate in the 5K which consisted of running or walking a course through the Hamilton Park neighborhood where Explore is located. Experienced runners, Explore families, and community members joined the event.
“I liked running with my friends and my little sister. My little sister did amazing and three times better than me, she ran the whole thing and she’s only seven. She’s pretty fierce! It was a really fun event and I would do it again!” 6th grader Gabe Marandino said.
Gabe’s mother, Angie, added, “I’m hoping Explore will have more of these kinds of events, maybe a fall 5K and a spring 5K. Thank you to everyone who organized and helped make this happen!”
“The Explore 5K was a really nice event. As a part of an incoming 6th grader, my son was able to meet future fellow classmates in a very relaxed, fun way. There is a tremendous sense of community at Explore thanks to the administrators, teachers, staff, and students. We are definitely looking forward to the next 3 years,” Allen Pascual shared.
The winners of the adult female and male runners competition were Jamie Velazquez and Matthew Mulhern. The winners of the children female and male runners were Maddie Santiago and Abraham West.
Explore parent, Angela Santiago, can’t wait for next year’s 5K and was very proud of her daughter, Maddie.
“Thanks to Explore Middle School for holding its first annual 5K Walk Run. We had a lot of fun running through the neighborhood in gorgeous weather and to top it off Elysa’s sister, Maddie, was the first girl to cross the finish line. So proud of her and her siblings for their first 5K and mine since high school. We look forward to next year’s 5K.”
“For our first 5k I was blown away with the amount of children, adults, and families that participated. I would like to especially thank the HCST foundation for assisting us and fellow runner Sal Vega for always supporting our events,” Supervisor Jamie Velazquez stated.
