Bluejay 5k – The Start of an Honorable Tradition
Photo by Lydia Avery
At 6:30 am, with a free coffee and donut in hand, I walk the long strip down toward the finish line and take a sharp right turn toward the bleachers. They shine from the rain, the reflection almost blinding. We walk up toward the press box door, yanking it open against the wind. Slowly, we switch on the power, plug in the laptop, and after a brief hum of static, our playlist begins. The sun is still slowly creeping up and the air is still cool, racers are beginning to arrive.
Saturday, April 27, 2024, the Elmhurst Student Veterans Association hosted the first ever Bluejay 5k in support of Honor Flight Chicago.
Honor Flight Chicago is a non-profit organization that is committed to thanking and honoring our veterans by sending them to D.C. to visit their own war memorial. According to their site, they “recognize the bravery, determination and patriotism of America’s senior military veterans with an all-expense paid, one-of-a-kind journey to Washington, D.C. for a day of honor, thanks and inspiration.”
Organizing an Honor Flight takes a lot of hands, time, planning, and of course, funds. The Bluejay 5k was put together to join many others in raising money to help honor our veterans. Main organizer Jacob Hill sat down with me to discuss his own time in service, the organization of the event, and the Student Veterans Association’s vision for the future.
Jacob Hill wears many hats, including being a professor of library science, a librarian, the liaison to the military services office as well as an alderman at Elmhurst city hall. He also serves on the veteran’s commission and works with the American Legion.
Hill told me about his time in the US Army National Guard from 1996 to 2002. He was never deployed but said he “was activated for the Salt Lake City World Winter Olympic games which came right after 9/11 so there was a very heightened security focus on those.”
When asked about why he wanted to host the event, Hill explained that the university has never hosted a 5k in his 20 plus years working here. He wanted to host an event to bring together the community and to have veterans supporting veterans. He named it the Inaugural Bluejay 5k because he hopes and plans on this being a recurring event every spring semester.
“I want to have something that we’re (veterans) attached to that’s going to have a history,” he said.
Hill ended up meeting Peter Richey, who works with Honor Flight Chicago at his son’s school. Richey is Hill’s son’s teacher and he got to talk with him about the veteran’s event the elementary school has held each year and how Honor Flight hosts 5k around the area yearly but hasn’t been able to rely on a space. Hill offered Langhorst Field as a possible space that they could rely on. When race day finally arrived, a little over 180 racers crossed the finish line. Zack Fidrocki was the overall fastest male runner, crossing at 17:03, and Abby Miller was the overall fastest female runner, crossing at 26:04. Notably, the oldest racer was Bonnie Cordaro, age 83.
Currently, the final donation amount from the race is still pending, but at this time, about $8,700 has been raised. Hill said, “We’re going to have a check handed over at some public event, probably at an Honor Flight return ceremony when some veterans come back in the next month or so.”
Looking to the future, Hill hopes that alongside the student veterans, he can host many more events, like the 5k and the fall barbeque. He spoke about the dynamic between student veterans and other students and encouraged us to “celebrate our similarities.”
Next year, near the end of the spring semester the SVA plans to host the Second Annual Bluejay 5k, and the veterans are looking forward to more of the Elmhurst University community joining in.
