Fifth annual 5k fast approaching

Tyler Davis Tdavis@hendersondispatch.Com; 252-436-2839, Henderson (N.C.) Daily Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 26—HENDERSON — Starting on Breckenridge Street, hundreds of folks will walk or run a few miles around town once again.

The AIMHigh 5k is fast approaching on May 4. Founder Jessica Hawkins is expecting up to 600 people for this year's event. Last year, 478 people turned out to walk and run.

The 5k has been an annual event, in one form or another, since 2019. At the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hawkins recalled scrolling through social media on her couch and noticed everybody else was doing the same thing.

She wanted to encourage everybody to get up and about — so she hosted a virtual 5k to get people to walk, wherever they were. In 2021, participants met in person for the first time, and they have every year since.

Hawkins knows health, having operated a personal training studio in town, AIMHigh, 2008. During that pandemic, people were much more sedentary and getting sicker more frequently — she saw that need and wanted to help people improve their mental, spiritual and physical health.

That led her to the nonprofit sector, and she founded AIMHigh Keep Pressing in 2020. All proceeds from the 5k will go towards that organization's summer program, during which the nonprofit provides a sort of summer camp for kids in underserved communities — driving through those areas three times a week over 12 weeks and giving kids free snacks and food boxes.

Last year's 5k raised over $15,000 for AIMHigh.

The event starts bright and early at 8 a.m. on the parking lot on Breckenridge, between Perry Memorial Library and the Henderson Police Department. Registration is required beforehand. Seniors 60+ and kids aged 17 or younger get in for free. For everyone else, the cost for the 5k is $35 and $45 for the 10k.

Whichever team has the largest group at the end of the day will get $1,500 towards its mission. Last year's recipient of the Keep Pressing Award, as it's known, was Walk for Meezy at 80 participants. That organization sought to start a nonprofit to raise awareness for silent seizures and epilepsy.

Those interested in registering as a participant or a vendor can do so at keeppressing.org.

Sponsorships include AmeriHealth Caritas and Margier White of State Farm Insurance.