The university’s Office of Student and Community Engagement (SCE) hosted its annual “Turkey Trot for Wellness” this past Saturday morning to get students up and moving around campus.
The three-mile trip features wellness tips along the way, refreshments, giveaways, music, and resources at the finish line.
“We’re trying to bring awareness for health and wellness … especially in the colder months, ” said Rylee Jarosz, a second year peer educator for the Center for Health and Wellness. “It’s like getting up and moving around, being active, even in the cold and throughout the race, we have tips on how to stay healthy in the colder months.”
Participating students gathered at the fountains around 9:30 a.m. that morning, collecting free T-shirts, goodie-bags made by the Wellness and Prevention interns, coffee and Buckeye Donuts before assembling at the starting line.
President Tice started off the fun-run with a short, motivational speech and telling participants about the resources students have for their mental and physical wellbeing on campus.
On his count, the race began.
“Recently, I started running this summer, and I originally signed up for the turkey trot because I wanted to kind of push myself and test myself and see how far I could go,” said senior student and participant Olivia Thomas.
Starting at the fountains, students ran, jogged and walked towards College Avenue, took three laps around campus, then returned to the fountains for water and their goodie-bags.
“My favorite part is …the music and just talking to everybody,” said sophomore participant Clara Wilson. “I think it’s a good thing to do in the morning; [it] just , gets people exercising, and it’s good for your mental health … I would go again next year.”
This is the fourth annual turkey trot the university has hosted, beginning with the Office of Residential and Commuter Life. The next year, the Wellness and Prevention Office and SCE
“We kind of put a wellness spin on it the last three years, just wanting students in our community to kind of be mindful of the winter season coming up and ways to stay healthy, mentally and physically,” said Abbey Rutschilling, an associate director of the SCE.
The SCE hosts many campus events to get students involved. Several participants reported being interested in the event for the community and social aspects, as well as the health benefits.
“I think it’s nice that people actively want to participate in wellness activities, nd I think that running is a big one, like exercise in general, so it’s nice that campus does this,” Thomas said .
The Wellness and Prevention Office aims to serve the mental and physical needs of campus, with 24/7 mental health support resources and three psychotherapists on staff for free, unlimited counseling sessions for students.
“The goals for the event are really to just get our community together and have a fun, fun morning around wellness, so we’ve got some free giveaways, some healthy snacks, some donuts coming along, too … [it’s] just a fun way to celebrate our bodies and our minds and kind of getting us ready for that winter season,” Rutschilling said.
As the fun run came to an end, students could leave with their free goodie bags, t-shirts and
wellness tips as they headed into the end of the year and finals season.
