SMA students, community 'Rise and Run'

What began as a school project for two Sarasota Military School graduates, has turned into a full-blown community event. 

SMA hosted its third annual Raiders Rise and Run 5K on Feb. 21 in Payne Park, which has grown from 90 runners in its first year to 240.

In 2018, Erick Barnard, 20, and Brianna Trecartin, 19, teamed up for their Creation Activity Service (CAS) project, which is a specialized program for the SMA IB program.

Barnard said some students use the CAS project to promote the IB program or start a new program on campus, but he and Trecartin wanted to go in a different direction.

That was when they founded the Raiders Rise and Run 5K.

The Raiders are ROTC team that competes in high endurance competitions such as tire flipping and kettlebell runs, the duo knew they wanted their project to raise money for the IB program and their team.

An added perk for Trecartin was that running a 5K is part of the Raiders competition, which meant all of their friends were already used to the length of the race. 

“We decided to do a fundraiser that'll help support and promote both programs and what better way to do that than a 5K,” he said. “We chose Payne Park, planned out the route, created all the promotional materials and found the sponsors. I guess they [the school] liked so much they kept doing it.”

Barnard, now at University of South Florida, and Trecartin, at Florida Southern College, visited Sarasota for the 5K. Trecartin said she was surprised to see students she used volunteer with in the SMA Prep Junior Raiders program now in high school and running in the race.

“It’s weird to see them the age I was when I was doing this. It just threw me for a loop,” she said. 

Becky Morris, assistant head of school at SMA Prep, stood along the sidelines and snapped pictures of each runner that passed.Morris said he loves to see how the run supports the Raiders program because it helps the students sustain their physical and mental health. 

Harrison Levy, 15, was the first male runner to finish at 14 minutes 41 seconds. Rebecca Pilcher, 15, was the first female runner to finish at 18 minutes 45 seconds.