NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — MCLA’s Student Government Association will host the first-ever Virtual Sam Gomez Road Race from 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 30 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 3.

 

The race will begin in conjunction with MCLA's virtual Take Back the Night event on April 30 to stand against sexual assault, harassment, and domestic violence and to continue to support the Elizabeth Freeman Center.

 

Participants are not required to register. Simply run or walk a 5K of your choice the weekend of May 1 and submit a photo of yourself on the run to sga@mcla.edu to receive an e-certificate to commemorate your race. You can also post your photo on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #virtualsamgomez. Additional donations to the Elizabeth Freeman Center will also be encouraged through SGA’s donation page.

 

More information is available at mcla.edu/samgomez.

 

The Sam Gomez Road Race is one of the oldest races in Berkshire County and has been a successful North Adams tradition for 41 years, thanks to the generosity of our loyal sponsors and the support of the local running community.

 

The organizations sponsoring this year’s race are:

 

♦ Gold: Donovan O'Connor & Dodig, LLP

♦ Silver: Adams Community Bank; Bright Ideas Brewing; rk Miles; Sawyer, LLC

♦ Bronze: Beck’s Printing Company, Inc.; Countryside Landscape Services; Gajda, Arnold & McConnell PC; Liberty Mutual; LOK, Inc. D/B/A Angelina's Sub Shop; Mount Williams Greenhouses Inc.; Peter Jones Trophies; Souliere & Zepka Construction, Inc.; Wild Oats Market

♦ Other Sponsors: H.A. George & Sons Fuel Corp

 

Sam Gomez was a professor at MCLA (then North Adams State College) and founded the school’s cross country team. He believed in the importance of the relationship between the local community and MCLA.

 

In honor of Gomez and his legacy of giving back to the Berkshire community, each year SGA selects a Berkshire County charity to receive the proceeds from the race bearing Gomez’ name. With the help of local sponsors, SGA has raised more than $27,000 for Berkshire-based organizations over the last 16 years.