Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2021

Pirates across the world participated in the 2020 Jameson 5K and One-Mile Mosey. FULL SPEED AHEAD The Jameson 5K at Southwestern, which honors the memory of Jaysn Flynn Jameson ’90, marked its 20th year this past October. The 2020 race not only hit an extraordinary milestone (or three-milestone) but took place under extraordinary circumstances. Like all other facets of everyday life, the COVID-19 pandemic presented the event coordinators with both new challenges and new opportunities. The race adhered to social-distancing guidelines and, as such, was not certified or chip timed. This meant that awards could not be handed out either. However,farfrombeingcharacterized solely by restriction, the Jameson 5K’s transition to a virtual race allowed for more participants than ever to join in and help raise money for the Jaysn Flynn Jameson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Runners were able to run any route, from any city, at any time during the three days set aside for the race, with the goal of having at least one runner in every state. As of October 15, 2020, 28 states were represented, and a few international runners had registered. Of course, the event’s reach can’t be attributed solely to its virtual transition. The continued success of the Jameson 5K would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the scholarship fund and event’s founder and director, Kenda Jameson Evans ’92, as well as SU I-CORPS intern Hannah Mitchell ’22, who was a prime mover in the marketing for the unprecedented virtual event. Evans is excited for the continued success of the race and can’t wait to see what the future may hold for virtual participation. “After this past year was so successful in bringing participants from so many states and countries together for the event, I would love to be able to maintain a virtual component to the race,” she remarks. “If possible, it will be great to have a hybrid race in which we still get together on campus during homecoming and have the in-person timed event but also open the race up to folks that can’t make it back to Georgetown to participate as well. This will still allow alumni and friends to participate from anywhere while still being a part of the homecoming activities and celebrating Jaysn’s memory in addition to raising money for the memorial scholarship fund.” In a time when it feels as though we’re further apart than ever before (in more ways than one), the 2020 Jameson 5K managed to bring together Pirates from near and far to honor Jameson’s memory and contribute to the scholarship fund that has been aiding students for the past two decades. 5 2 | SOUTHWE S T E RN Jaysn Jameson '90 Lindsey Knapton ’10 (Anchorage, AK) Luz Castro P’22 (Cleveland, WI) STORY BY MEGAN BETANCOURT ’21