Gobble Waddle returns Nov. 19

Submitted BY UNC HEALTH JOHNSTON

SMITHFIELD — The 14th Annual Gobble Waddle is set for Saturday, Nov. 19 with both 5K and 10K races.

The race will begin at 218 S. Second St. in Smithfield at 9 a.m. Registration is open now and will be held until 8 a.m. the day of the event. An awards ceremony will follow the race and awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers in each age category.

Age categories will be 6-13, 14-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70-99 for both the 5K and 10K. Trophies will be given to the first overall male and female finisher in each event.

To run or walk, go to runsignup.com to register. Come alone or come with family and friends, co-workers, your friendly dog and/or make your own team. For those who can’t walk or run, volunteer opportunities are available. Go to runsignup.com to volunteer. Volunteers are needed to sit/stand along the route to cheer runner/walkers to the finish line.

Anyone who can’t participate is asked to consider donating non-perishable foods. These foods can be dropped off at HealthQuest at 514 N. Brightleaf Blvd. Monday-Friday from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

Those who would like to sponsor the new Youth Zone, please visit johnstonhealth.org/foundation and select Youth Zone Campaign in the dropdown menu. All monetary proceeds from the Gobble Waddle will go towards the new Youth Zone Campaign where HealthQuest will house youth wellness programs for all youth, especially those facing difficult health challenges.

Non-perishable foods are being collected through the end of November. Collection sites are presently located at HealthQuest, and food can also can be brought on the day of the event. These donations will be distributed to local food pantries within Johnston County.

Gobble Waddle was born through the vision of Barbara Narron. Narron was diagnosed with cancer at age 12 and was inspired by the love shown to her by the community. During this time, she decided she had more to give and wasn’t going to stop until it happened. “I feel like there were a lot of prayers and a lot of community churches that prayed for me, so I wanted to do something to give back to the community.” Narron said.

She noticed there were very few 5K or 10K races in this area and that there seemed to be a lot of interest in these events in surrounding areas. After many thoughts and prayers and having absolutely no resources to make her vision happen, Narron, who is now a staff member of HealthQuest Fitness and Wellness Center in Smithfield, presented her ideas to Ashley Scott, the director of HealthQuest.

Scott was excited to work with Narron to accomplish this mission for many reasons, a main one being that this was one way to reach the mission of HealthQuest, which is to improve the health of the people in the community.

With the assistance of Scott and HealthQuest staff, they immediately put Narron’s vision into action. It began as a 5K walk/run in which everyone that entered was requested to bring an assigned amount of canned foods to donate in lieu of a registration fee.

HealthQuest members quickly caught the vision and joined the fun by bringing not only the assigned canned foods, but much more. “The HealthQuest kitchen would be full of food. We would divide the food and deliver it all to local churches that had food banks,” Narron said. “From year-to-year, due to the increase of the high volume of foods, we had to change our registration process. Local area companies began to get involved by giving monetary donations to help with race awards and t-shirts and so the participation grew and grew.”

Narron never wanted to discontinue the program. In the beginning we had only 30 people, but the next year we had about 50 people and it has been steadily growing throughout the years,” she said.

Barbara Narron, whose vision was a driving force in starting the Gobble Waddle, shops at Town Market in Pine Level using donations provided for food.

As the event continued to grow, more and more local companies began to contribute monetary donations. HealthQuest incorporated a 10K route that increased interest from more seasoned runners from not only the local area, but from surrounding states.

HealthQuest soon teamed up with the Johnston Health Foundation, who became more involved with the coordination of the event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gobble Waddle went virtual and had its biggest participation yet with approximately 353 participants. Even during the pandemic, the community came together and contributed approximately 950 pounds of food, keeping Gobble Waddle on track with increasing participants and food donations.

“I appreciate the fact that Johnston Health wanted to continue to carry on the vision and the purpose of Gobble Waddle which is to give back and feed those in the community that are truly in need. If you feed, you will be fed.” Narron said. “I like seeing everyone come out with their family and friends to participate and have fun. I also like seeing all the donations that come in.”

For more information, call HealthQuest at 919-938-7581.