Running for a Cause

On Saturday, April 16th, Knoxville will host the Forget Me Not 5K for Alzheimer’s Disease, benefitted by the Pat Summitt Foundation. This 5K is a wonderful way to spread awareness about this heartbreaking disease, and one of our own LCHS seniors, Katy Roel (12), has decided to participate. Roel explains what made her want to run for this cause. 

“My grandmother and I saw that a friend of ours was interested in doing it, so we decided to sign up,” Roel said.

Her motives for participating go so much farther than running with her grandmother; Roel genuinely wants to spread any kind of awareness she can about Alzheimer’s Disease, and the Forget Me Not 5K is the perfect way to do it. 

“It’s difficult to see people suffer with this deteriorating disease and deal with its effects, so anything I can do to raise awareness about it is great,” Roel said. 

Roel has not only decided to run in the Forget Me Not 5K, but she has also ran in other local 5Ks for causes in the past. Running for a cause is beneficial in so many ways, whether it be helping out local charities, spreading awareness about certain causes, or improving your own physical health. Roel describes what she gains from running in 5Ks. 

“We like to participate in local 5Ks as much as we can to stay healthy and help out local charities,” Roel said. 

Running for long periods of time is not an easy task, and typically, people must train themselves to get used to that type of exercise. In order to prepare herself for this upcoming 5K, Roel has had to prepare. 

“I’ve been running a little bit each day to get acclimatized to running,” Roel said. 

After all of this preparation, Roel will lace up her shoes and get ready to run the race. Unlike other races, this race isn’t about winning; this race is about spreading awareness for a cause you feel strongly for– in this case, Alzheimer’s Disease.