By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Over the past 14 years, the St. Charles Catholic Fellowship of Christian Athletes “Run for the Son” has become one of the biggest race events in St. John Parish.

Today marks the 14th consecutive year that the 5K race and one-mile fun run/walk will be held, beginning at 8 a.m. at the SCC campus — which also marks the run’s final destination. 

Proceeds from the race benefit the St. Charles Catholic Fellowship of Christian Athletes and will help finance local athletes’ expenses to national summer camps.

Run coordinator Gary Zeringue said that he hopes to see a big walk-up crowd today. There have been fewer people preregistering than in previous years, which Zeringue mostly attributes to the rainy weather. 

He also hopes the attendance will bounce back from its mark of a year ago, when the run was postponed to Mother’s Day weekend as he recovered from an illness. The run had seen in excess of 300 participants, but last year the number dipped to 175.

“We’re also kind of hoping to rebuild a habit for people,” said Zeringue. “We’ve always made it a point to do this ahead of some of the bigger races, like the Crescent City Classic. People use it as a tune-up.”

All race participants will receive an official race t-shirt and tickets for concessions and will be eligible for the door prizes to be given away at the traditional post-run awards ceremony. 

Door prizes include gift certificates, gift cards, gas cards, and discount coupons from local businesses.

“It’s completely a family event,” said Zeringue. “Everyone comes out and runs and then can enjoy the Powerade, the smoothies, the Pastalaya and the Papa John’s pizza.”

Last year, Pierre McGraw (Class of 2014) and Michelle Jensen (Class of 1987) were the winners of the 5K race. Jensen’s time was 25:50 and McGraw ran 20:16. Albert Hane and Allison Arcuri were the winners in the one-mile race. Hane finished in 6:42, while Arcuri finished with a time of 7:37.

The event was once perceived to be primarily for SCC athletes, specifically its football players, but that thought has greatly changed over the years.

“We’ve branched out. We’ve had runners as young as four and as old as 83,” he said. 

Zeringue said that he’s proud of what the event has turned into under his watch, crediting locals Mike Williams and Greg Maurin for showing him the ropes.

“At the beginning, I had no clue,” said Zeringue. “Over the last five years, I think we’ve had as much participation as any run in St. John. It’s been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, runs in our parish over the past five to ten years.”

All participants should arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to the planned starting times for both races in order to complete registration. Registration will be held in the school gym. Entry fees are $15 for adults, $12 for college and high school students and $10 for youth.