About 35 people assembled at the UF Commuter Lot on Gale Lemerand Drive at about 8 a.m. Sunday to run in the Paws for Pet Rescue 5K.
The race benefited Haile’s Angels Pet Rescue, a Gainesville animal shelter that finds adoptive homes for dogs and cats to prevent them from being euthanized.
Before the race, participants drank donated bottled water and jumped in place to ward off the early morning chill.
Officers from the University Police Department outlined the route, which circled Lake Alice by way of Mowry, Hull, Radio and Museum roads.
Sasha, a tan and white 2-year-old Basset Hound mix, greeted runners at the finish line. She was brought to Haile’s Angels Pet Rescue about three weeks ago and is awaiting adoption.
Six students in UF professor Stephen LaBarbera’s sales management class organized the event.
LaBarbera’s class was split into groups and assigned to raise awareness for a pet rescue organization in Alachua County, said Sara Palmer, a marketing senior who helped coordinate the race.
With a $15 donation, participants registered online or signed up before the race, which raised more than $400 for Haile’s Angels. About $300 was collected from the 5K participants, and $100 was donated by Target Copy, an event sponsor, according to group member Alex Baden, a UF marketing and psychology senior.
Ariel, a 14-year-old student at Oak Hall School, has volunteered at the Alachua County Humane Society for a year. She asked her parents to join her in running for the cause.
“I run three miles a day anyway,” she said. “Why not run for this?”
