Running as Mission

Cedarville’s Athletic Training Student Org (ATSO) will hold a Fall Costume 5K and Fun Run Oct. 23 to support a Christian athletic trainer in the Middle East.

Carly Gregory, a senior athletic training major and president of ATSO, said the primary goal of Friday’s event is to raise money to supply sling bags for an athletic trainer in the Middle East.

“In a typical sling bag you’d have tape and scissors, and just your general first aid supplies,” Gregory said.

Excess funds will go towards a Spring Break mission trip to support this athletic trainer and his ministry.

ATSO is unable to reveal the name of the athletic trainer it is supporting or the country he is operating in for security reasons. However, the program director of the athletic training department, Michael Weller, has maintained a relationship with this individual for two years.

Xenia-based sports ministry Athletes in Action is acting as the liaison between ATSO and the unnamed athletic trainer.

Gregory said Friday’s event is both a run and a harvest party. She said there will be games, like apple bobbing and corn hole, as well as popcorn and warm apple cider.

“It’s an event for both Cedarville University and the community,” Gregory said. “We’re hoping to get parents and children out and enjoy the night.”

Gregory said there will be costume contests and prizes for best costume and best group costume. There will also be prizes for fastest runners.

Dan Herring, a senior athletic training major and director of external affairs for ATSO, said the amount of money ATSO collects during the event will dictate how many supplies go into each bag and the quality of those supplies. Herring said any extra funds will go towards the mission trip. However, ATSO has not yet created a goal for the number of bags to fill or calculated the funds necessary to pay for the mission trip.

Herring said the mission trip will provide athletic training support and education to the people in the Middle Eastern country and provide an opportunity to minister to the people of this country. He said the mission trip will include a maximum of eight athletic training upperclassmen and two certified athletic trainers, all of which will work with the athletic trainer.

Gregory said, “It will just like have an opportunity to put our faith into work and be bold for Jesus in the face of a lot of adversity over there, and just be an encouragement to him.”

Herring said the hope is the Spring Break trip will lead to future mission trips to the country, which could potentially result in a four-week mission trip next summer.

Register for Friday’s run 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 21-23 in the lower SSC. Games and food begin at 5 p.m., the Fun Run begins at 5:45 p.m. and the 5K begins at 6 p.m.

Keegan D’Alfonso is a freshman journalism major and a reporter for Cedars. He was a sergeant in the Marines and enjoys learning about and experiencing other cultures.