There may not have been as many participants as organizers wanted, but Lupus Foundation of Arkansas President Jamesetta Smith said that the 26th Annual Norma Lampert Memorial Lupus Springers 5K Race and Walk to End Lupus was a success.
"There are several people that have been there for years, but that makes me feel good because I can see that they're supporting us," she said. "They feel like we're doing something, and we're reaching people. So when they come back -- there's several people that were there each year. And there's one runner, I don't know, he's been there for years, but he doesn't even stay for his trophy. We know him, and I think that's a good thing because what he's doing is supporting Lupus."
Smith, who also suffers from the disease, said that she was pleased to see several new faces in the crowd of runners and walkers, despite issues with registration early on. The registration on the Lupus Foundation's website had information about their golf tournament instead of the 5K, which caused some confusion.
"That confused a lot of people, but we finally got it straightened out," she said. "And I've got to make sure all our other events are straightened out, too, but it turned out nice. I was pleased with the crowd. We had a lot of new people, and we had some people, you know, who have been there each year. And that always makes me feel good when people come back from year to year."
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One of the spectators at the race was someone that Smith was surprised to see. A young woman with Lupus that had to move back home returned for the event.
"She used to live here in Hot Springs and worked here, and she got so sick that she had to move home with her mother. And no one expected her to make it. And I'm so thankful that she's there every year, and she has a little team that comes with her, including her mom. ... She looked so good (Saturday). I was just pleased because she had really struggled to be a young woman. You know, you don't like to see that."
One of the new runners, Nathan Harbut, was the winner of the race while Anne Perry, who has run the race for many years, was the top female finisher. Harbut is a going to be a freshman at Hot Springs High School next year, but there were also several participants who were much older.
"We had several elderly people who were in the race, and they won trophies," Smith said. "You know, that's good. That's always a good thing."
Regardless of the participation, Smith said that the important thing is to raise awareness for the autoimmune disease.
"We enjoy doing this, and we get the word out about Lupus," Smith said. "And that's what we want to do: raise awareness about Lupus, what it can do, what it will do, and how we have to learn to cope with it because we cannot give up. And that's what a lot of people do is give up, but once you get up off your feet, I mean, you feel like a new person."