Friday, November 12, 2021
Community, Around Campus
By News and Internal Communications
By Pat Rodriguez
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – With the holiday season upon us and thoughts of all the delicious food – tamales, turkey, pies, buñuelos – that will be filling our bellies, the UTRGV University Recreation (UREC) and the School of Medicine are encouraging the university community to get a head start on their exercise goals by signing up for the UTRGV Healthy Vaqueros 5k.
Those who register for the virtual 5k, which runs from Nov. 15-30, will be able to submit multiple attempted runs within the 16-day timeframe to improve on their times. The deadline for the last activity submission is Nov. 30. The 5k can only be completed in a single run/walk (no separating of miles to add).
“The School of Medicine and Graduate Medical Education wanted to co-host a collaborative 5k to encourage the UTRGV community to come together in wellness,” said Samantha Villarreal, UREC program director at Brownsville, who is leading the event for the department.
The virtual nature of the event gives students, faculty and staff more days to complete their 5k, said Villarreal. T-shirts will be distributed to the first 150 individuals who register.
Once registered, participants will be asked to download the Strava app on their mobile device and join the “UTRGV Healthy Vaqueros 5k” on the app. The app will help participants track their progress/completion. Villarreal also noted the app is a great tool for keeping track of your physical activity and helping you stay connected with other users.
“This event is to promote wellness, not just a competition,” said Villarreal. “Join us for the UTRGV Healthy Vaqueros 5K to show that we are Valley Strong.”
UTRGV students, faculty and staff can sign up here.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.