The Syracuse Workforce Run (formerly the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge) will be held on Tuesday, June 21, at 6:45 p.m. at Onondaga Lake Park. The 5K (3.1 miles) race is an annual tradition bringing together employees from organizations across the greater Syracuse area for a night of camaraderie, networking, food and beverages, and friendly competition. Proceeds from this year’s race will benefit the Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse, a non-profit fighting local hunger and homelessness.
The Syracuse University faculty/staff team is currently recruiting participants of all fitness and skill levels to join in the fun. Here are some key things to know:
For those who wish to build up their endurance prior to the race, or simply enjoy training and exercising in community, an optional, seven-week Couch-to-5K training program is underway, led by Cole Smith, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). Smith, who is now an accomplished marathon runner, says he learned to run over a decade ago using a similar, incremental approach to building distance, and by finding a community of runners to train with.
“I’ve never accomplished anything without a community around me that was picking me up and encouraging me and bringing me along,” Smith says. “Since joining the University in 2019, I’ve wanted to be more involved in the Syracuse community, and I’ve also wanted to help other folks get into shape if that is something that they desire—so this is an opportunity to do both at the same time.”
The Couch-to-5K training program includes three run/walk workouts—two guided, one on your own—and one cross-training workout (i.e., cycling, swimming, elliptical machine) per week. Group training meetups are held on campus on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. and Thursdays at 5:15 p.m., led by Dean Smith and ECS Professor Cliff Davidson.
Smith emphasizes that the training program is about starting off gently and building distance over time. “The goal of our group training certainly isn’t to run as quickly as possible, in fact we encourage our faster runners to slow down and stay within small groups or duos for more of the community aspect,” Smith says.
Participants will instead focus on adding mileage and changing the ratio of jogging to walking as training progresses. “Even if the ‘run’ is not much of a run—it doesn’t have to be,” he says. “It can be a slow trot. Anything that would get you eliminated from the walking competition in the Olympics counts!”
All Syracuse University faculty and staff are welcome to participate in the Couch-to-5K training program. Visit the Wellness Initiative website to learn more.
The Syracuse Workforce Run is for eligible employees of the University; however friends and family are welcome to join by registering as an individual participant and paying the full race fee of $38. Email wellness@syr.edu with any questions about the event.
