Mississippi College Department of Kinesiology kicks off Homecoming Saturday with Hap Hudson 5K.
When race director Suzanne McDonough initially approached Mississippi College Coach Joel “Hap” Hudson about naming the Department of Kinesiology’s new Homecoming 5K run/walk in his honor, the legendary athletic trainer and member of the MC Athletics Hall of Fame was nonplussed.
“I thought you did stuff like that after a person dies, not before,” Hudson said.
In McDonough’s view, it would be more fun to name the race for someone who is still alive to enjoy it.
Seventeen years later, Hudson is still involved in the event that bears his name, firing the starter’s pistol to what has become the traditional start to MC’s Homecoming Saturday.
The 2024 Hap Hudson 5K Run/Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, in front of Cockroft Hall on the Clinton campus. Participants should arrive by 7 a.m. The race begins at 7:30 a.m.
Runners and walkers will make their way from Cockroft through the historic brick streets of downtown Clinton, surrounding neighborhoods, and the MC campus before ending the race on the Dr. James E. Parkman Track at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
Anyone is eligible to enter the race. Trophies will be awarded to the winners in age groups ranging from 9 and younger to 65 and older, and the top three men and women finishers will receive gift certificates.
“Hap has never missed a race and most of his family come and participate, too,” said McDonough, professor of kinesiology at MC.
“It has turned into a big family reunion for the Hudson family and I have enjoyed getting to know so many of them. I have had a few of his grandkids in my classes, too.”
She said the race serves as the perfect entry-level event for those interested in taking up running.
“For some students, it’s the first time they have entered a race,” McDonough said. “I teach an online walking class and have had many students register for the race. It’s their initiation into a life of running.”
“Hap has touched so many lives throughout his career at Mississippi College,” McDonough said. “Each year I think the race can’t get any better, and yet it does.”
Hap Hudson 5K sponsors are members of the Clinton community, local businesses, and friends of the family – many of whom have a connection to Coach Hap Hudson.
The Hap Hudson 5K funds the scholarship award given to the Hap Hudson Outstanding Kinesiology Student at MC, laboratory equipment and supplies, and student travel to conferences.
Access online registration for the 2024 race.
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