Gold, purple, and green were everywhere during JCI Santa Clarita’s 16th annual “Mardi Gras Madness” 5K and 10K run on Sunday morning at the Valencia Town Center.
People of all ages were walking, running or jogging the trails with big smiles on their faces during the sunny morning. They included mothers pushing strollers, older women and men, toddlers, and dogs with their owners.
Sharlene Johnson and Kennedy Gelnette, co-chairs of this year’s run, were excited for the morning after months of planning.
When asked what it felt like to see their hard work pay off, they said it feels great.
“Well, we need a nap, for sure … It’s just extremely rewarding. All the long hours, late nights, feels worth it. And yeah, it’s a good feeling,” Gelnette said.
“I just think that we turn around and we go, ‘This was incredible. Let’s celebrate. Let’s debrief.’ And what can we do better to create an even more rewarding experience the next year,” Johnson said.
During the event, attendees got to walk around the vendor booths, cheer on their fellow runners or walkers near the finish line, or enjoy a morning scoop from an ice cream truck.
Sam Sanchez, a Los Angeles resident, participated in the fun with his co-workers, saying it was a good excuse to not sleep in.
“It’s good to spend time with coworkers outside of work, and like just do normal people stuff, and this is a really good excuse, like I said, to kind of motivate myself a little, get back in shape,” Sanchez said.
He added that he completed the 5k in 40 minutes, averaging his pace at 12:15 a mile.
One woman decided to join with her weekly running group, Black Girls Run, and was happy to see so many people outside.
“I think it’s good to see everyone outside, enjoying the sunshine, and then we’re all here for a good cause. We (are) all here running and walking together, sweating together. So, it’s just good to just see everyone out here eating ice cream. Just like a fun event, you know,” said Karina Afework, a Santa Clarita Valley resident. “I’m like, ‘We spend so much time indoors. We will need to get back connected to nature and just enjoy the paseos that we do have out here in Valencia.’”
Mindy Seminario, an SCV resident, and her sister Kacey Dolan, a Simi Valley resident, both achieved big goals during the race.
Seminario said she never thought she would be able to walk again, let alone run and got second place in her age group in the 5k – feeling emotional about it all.
“I started to be able to not walk … and then I found out what was wrong and was able to recover, and two years ago, I walked this 5K, which was a huge accomplishment for me. I did (it) with my dad (Don Dolan),” Seminario said. “And so, every year, we have been coming back, and this is the third year. And so, I feel … I feel super happy and emotional that, like, that I can do this, you know what I mean.”
She added that she was involved in an accident on the treadmill while running, and doctors were not giving her the answers she was looking for.
She found a book that explained what she was feeling, which was phantom pain, and started to slowly recover when she treated it as such, helping her heal.
Seminario said Kacey Dolan just had breast cancer surgery and ran the 5k and is running the L.A. marathon next week.
Kacey said doing events like this helps promote togetherness and doing something in the spirit of love with the community.
