“Woo! Great job!” “Keep going!”
Brandy Vital and her niece, Avery Boykin-Harris, hollered out words of encouragement as Hidden Gem runners turned onto 188th Street from Hamlin Avenue shortly after 8 a.m.
Volunteers from South Suburban Vineyard Church and Flossmoor Hills School were at the ready as the crowd of runners kept their pace. With no time to stop, volunteers extended their arms with cups of Gatorade and water for the hundreds that passed through their station at Flossmoor Hills School.
It was the fifth year the church brought a volunteer team to the event.
Runners greeted the school’s principal, Evita McNeil-Dobson, with high fives as she stood with her “You Got This” sign across from the school. One runner stopped to take a selfie with her and her sign.
The school’s music teacher Daniel Burke brought his trombone and accompanied his recorded music playing a number of enthusiastic hits, including music from Star Wars and Rock & Roll Part 2.
“I’m getting encouragement from the runners!” Burke said. “I’m energized at this hour.”
Once the lead runners sprinted by, the rest of the pack followed. To McNeil-Dobson’s words of encouragement one runner said, “My race, my pace.” As she took a breather, Jen Sierars of Tinley Park said it was her fifth time running the Hidden Gem in training for the Chicago Marathon.
And in a matter of minutes, the excitement of the Hidden Gem at the Flossmoor Hills School station was over.
