INA, Ill. (May 20, 2026) — Rend Lake College welcomed community members to the Ina campus on Saturday, May 9, for the inaugural Lap the Lake 5K and Wellness Festival.
Sixty runners, ranging six years old to senior citizens, raced a 5K course surrounding the RLC campus. An awards presentation at the RLC Event Center recognized top finishers across the various age divisions with the overall prize going to 26-year-old Declan Clause of Uvalde, TX, who completed the course in under 18 minutes. Complete results are available through the RunSignup Results Portal.
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A Wellness Festival took place after the race and featured local vendors alongside health seminars. Professional fitness instructors and faculty from the RLC Nursing department led presentations inside the campus Event Center.
Sessions included:
- Post-race stretching seminar, led by certified personal trainer Andrea Jent.
- Introduction to T'ai Chi Ch'uan, led by veteran instructor Chip Forrester.
- "Stop the Bleed" emergency medical seminar, led by RLC Associate Nursing Professor Sarah Hopfinger.
- Yoga Flow session, led by Andrea Jent.
Jent, a 200-hour RYT and Certified Personal Trainer with over 20 years of yoga experience, focused her sessions on core strength and functional movement. She holds specialized training certifications in nutrition, pregnancy/postpartum recovery, and pelvic health.
Forrester provided attendees with an introduction to T'ai Chi Ch'uan, commonly referred to as "moving yoga." His instructional session covered foundational practices targeted at balance, relaxation, and fall prevention, demonstrating elements of the Eight Pieces of Brocade and the Yang Style Short Form.
Hopfinger instructed attendees in the "Stop the Bleed" national initiative. The safety seminar provided practical guidance on recognizing life-threatening bleeding and employing immediate intervention methods designed to assist individuals during medical emergencies before first responders arrive.
The inaugural Lap the Lake 5K and Wellness Festival was made possible through the generous support of our community partners and sponsors, including AISIN, Baker & Sons Plumbing, Franklin Hospital, Herron Rehab & Wellness, Martin Junk Removal, The Super Patch Company and Wilkerson Farm.
For information about next year's Lap the Lake 5k and Wellness Festival, contact Charlotte Loss, Coordinator of Community and Corporate Education, at lossc@rc.edu.
