Weber State has been home to many great runners, ranging from former collegiate record holder Farley Gerber, to Olympian Lindsey Anderson. This past Friday, students and members of the community were running around campus, not to break records or achieve Olympic glory, but rather to celebrate and commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Wildcat Center.

The Wildcat Center anniversary 5k was not timed and gave everyone a chance to enjoy a nice Friday run.

“It went well,” said Emily Davidson, Weber State marketing and operations coordinator for campus recreation. “We wanted to do something that we are good at to celebrate the first year.”

Davidson said that she wanted to do something that would embody what the center stands for. The center gives students a chance to work out, whether they need to blow off stress or reach a New Year’s resolution. Open early in the morning and late at night, the center allows students to work out at their leisure and accommodates everyone.

Davidson and others were out on campus on Friday afternoon trying to catch people that may not have heard about the event, or just might be interested in running a 5k before they went home for the weekend. That effort helped attract more runners, as it informed them of the event that was going on that day.

Instead of setting up a course on the streets of Ogden, the race course was set up to show the beauty of the campus.

The runners weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the race, spectators and volunteers enjoyed spending their Friday afternoon helping put on the race. Kennedy Townsend, a human performance management major, volunteered and enjoyed being around the runners and the whole atmosphere.

“I work at the center and since Emily needed help I thought I would help her out,” Townsend said. “I think it happen every year especially because it ran through campus, which is a really pretty campus. It was enjoyable for the most part as they got to run around the duck pond. From what I could see, most of the people were enjoying it.”

As many people who have put on a race know, the support from volunteers is key to having a good event. The duties of directing runners or handing out water cannot be a one-man show. The run couldn’t have happened without the runners or volunteers.

Davidson plans on holding the race every year to celebrate the Wildcat Center and the students that use it.