“I actually don’t like running at all,” said Cameron McAlpine, who originated the idea for the 5K last year. But McAlpine — then-student, now-alumnus and Dartmouth resident — had participated in cystic fibrosis 5K races and walks for his cousin growing up, and “liked seeing everyone get together for a cause.” 

So he pushed to put together the first 5K last year, enlisting everyone from the Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership office to the catering office, to the labor education center and the athletic department.

With a large veterans population at UMass Dartmouth, a race to benefit veterans made the most sense to McAlpine, whose grandfather was also a veteran. 

This year’s Race for Veterans 5K, which took place on the campus cross country track on Oct. 22, specifically benefited UMass Dartmouth student veterans, as the proceeds will be used to support programming for the student veterans’ services program fund. That fund supports programs such as military-to-civilian transition assistance, mentorship initiatives, tutoring and the operation of a campus veteran center.

This first, second and third place medals were created by students in the machine shop at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. The metals were designed by another UMass Dartmouth student and McAlpine, then sent to Voc Tech for printing, where a Voc Tech logo was also applied to the back. 

The local Army National Guard office also came out to support the event, represented by Sergeant Riche Emmanuel and Specialist Christopher Butler, who brought their humvee. Emmanuel is a UMass Dartmouth alumnus himself, and Butler said he’s thinking about enrolling, so the event’s support for student veterans hit home. 

Graduate law student Josh Kam returned for the second year to race, and was hoping to beat his time from last year — he did so by a minute, finishing at 23:09 in tenth place. Kam said the race was five minutes from his dorm, so it’s an easy sell, but he also supports the cause, especially after working on a Navy base over the summer. 

The first-place runner, Brandon Scovil, was thrilled to win, but was looking for a better time. Like many runners, he tries to go to as many 5K races as he can to train, and drove down from Bryant University to come. He finished with an impressive 18:25 time, but was looking for somewhere in the 16 minute range. 

Scovil said his mom received her PhD from UMass Dartmouth, which made it feel like a “full circle” moment to come back and race there. 

Rounding out second and third place were Luke Wenner and Robert Lewis, who finished with times of 20:20 and 20:26, respectively. 57 people participated in total, including runners and walkers. 

While it’s only the second year of the 5K, McAlpine said he hopes the race will remain an annual event, continuing on past his tenure, aided by Christopher Laib, director of student activities, who played a large organizational role both years. 

“I like the atmosphere, I think it’s a great time, it’s fun — it’s an excuse to get outside,” McAlpine said.