Held as part of Inauguration Week during Bobcat Weekend, the morning activity was just one of a series of engaging October events celebrating Hardin’s inauguration as Quinnipiac’s 10th president. As a passionate runner of more than 30 marathons, Hardin, who will log her second New York City Marathon on November 2, encourages all Bobcats to find meaningful ways to focus on their physical and mental health. 

Senior Director of Live Channels Jamie DeLoma ‘06, MS ’11, an avid runner himself, served as race director. 

“To see more than 700 runners and walkers here — ranging from alumni with their friends and families to our students, faculty and staff and their families, and so many of our community partners — is just absolutely exhilarating,” DeLoma said with a broad grin. “It’s a visual example of the moment in Quinnipiac history which we are celebrating today, which is that of moving forward in a strong, holistic, healthy way.” 

In the months leading up to the 5K, DeLoma, who is working toward completing at least one race throughout the next 10 years in each of the 50 states and as many of the 10 Canadian providences as possible, has led a running club for students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends. Members of the university community can learn more about the in-person and virtual hybrid running club by searching "Quinnipiac University running club" on Strava.

"To see so many members of our Bobcat family doing this together is so inspiring," he added.

Hardin said she was thrilled to see the excitement of students, families, faculty, staff, alumni and community members filling the North Haven Campus on October 18.  

“It’s wonderful to have so many people here with us on this beautiful day,” Hardin said. “This is obviously a fun-loving community, and I am so encouraged, excited and grateful for all of the support.”

Events like Roaring Start 5K exemplify Quinnipiac’s ongoing commitment to uplift and support the wellbeing and lives of local community members, said Bethany Zemba, vice president for Strategy & Community Relations and chief of staff.

Zemba said the race is also a fitting expansion of Quinnipiac’s community-building Bobcat Stride program, which gives local residents ages 50 and up free, year-round access to indoor and outdoor walking routes at the North Haven Campus and Mount Carmel Campus in Hamden.

“We are very committed to wellness and health at Quinnipiac University, and so we look for opportunities to expand that into the community,” said Zemba. “We’re very happy to see everyone come together to be part of this wonderful day, and we’re also very happy to be holding this on our North Haven Campus, where our School of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, and School of Nursing focus on a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.” 

As a true team effort, Roaring Start 5K was developed in partnership with the QU Active Club, Quinnipiac Running Club, and Quinnipiac men’s and women’s Division I cross-country teams.

“This is something that the university has been working toward for the past six months, so to see it come together is absolutely exhilerating,” said DeLoma.  

Emma Byrne ’26, a physical therapy major at the School of Health Sciences and a women’s track and field team member, cheered on runners and walkers as they rounded the course. Byrne said it was an honor to help out at a race which also celebrates the energy, commitment and love of running embodied in Quinnipiac’s new president.

“I love that our president has a lot of energy and wants to get us out in the community helping out and supporting other people. And, there’s nothing better to do on a beautiful Saturday morning than running a 5K,” said Byrne.

Michelle Tota ’26, an occupational therapy major and women’s track and field member, joined several of her peers in inviting coaches and runners with New York’s Long Island-based Rolling Thunder Special Needs program to join in the race. 

“There are four of us on the team who study occupational therapy, so we thought it would be a good idea to work with the kids who have special needs and to give them a great race opportunity,” said Tota.

Rolling Thunder president and coach Steve Cuomo said working with the Quinnipiac program has been a great opportunity for his team. He’s excited to create more connections with the university.

“When you put together kids on the Quinnipiac track team, and Quinnipiac OT students, and our kids, that’s the definition of inclusion,” said Cuomo.

Karla Natale, associate vice president of Community Partnerships and University Events, said Quinnipiac placed a priority on offering an accessible, flat and level run/walk course for all abilities and skill levels. Natale said the exceptional course created at the North Haven Campus framed a perfect event which spoke to Hardin’s love of running while also helping to welcome alumni and families back to Quinnipiac for Bobcat Weekend.

“All of the participants here today are a really great diverse mixture of families, parents, students, alumni, faculty, staff and people from the greater community. It’s a really great intersection of what we strive to be for our communities and for our internal community, as well,” Natale said.

Race participants Savannah deMontmorency ’28 and Neely Deschenes ’28 decided to make a great Bobcat memory on a campus they both know very well. At the School of Health Sciences, Deschenes is majoring in diagnostic medical sonography and deMontmorency is a radiologic sciences major.

“We thought it would be a fun thing for us to do together,” deMontmorency said. “It’s great to be doing something that’s outside of the building and to see so many people on our campus.”

Sisters and fellow Bobcats Karsyn Bellomo ’26, a health science major, and Lanza Bellomo ’29, a marketing major, took on the 5K run with their parents, Erin and Nathan Bellomo, who traveled down from Vermont to share in Bobcat Weekend.  

“After I was done with sports, I kind of picked up running, and I do it consistently now,” said Karsyn Bellomo. “I heard about this from Jamie DeLoma and I told my family about it, because we’ve run 5Ks before as a family. I think we’ll be taking this one a little slower so it’s good quality time.”

Nathan Bellomo said he and his wife have always tried to model a healthy and active lifestyle for their children.

“Since they were in strollers, we’ve been running and doing activities with them. We haven’t really verbalized it, but we’ve tried showed them the positive outlook you get from running and being active,” he said.

Bobcat alumnus Tamara Decarter ’07, MAT ’08, brought the family to the 5K including her husband, Aaron Hawkins. Hawkins was at the handle of a wagon towing their two kids, 4-year-old Bow and his little sister Maggie, age 1.

“She runs more often than we do,” said Hawkins of his wife. “We’re here to support her and to walk as fast as we can!”

Decarter is also familiar with the North Haven Campus as a former Quinnipiac School of Law library staff member. In addition to being a part of the Bobcat community, the family also lives in town, said Decarter.

“We live right down the road, so it was a nice family morning for us to come out and show our support and be part of the community,” Decarter said.

Waiting alongside the inflatable Bobcat tunnel marking the Roaring Start 5K finish line, dad Bill Spagnola was looking forward to congratulating his daughter, Kiersten Spagnola, ’27, MBA ’28. The accounting and finance major was running her third 5K.

“She just started running road races this year, and she’s doing great. I’m very proud of her,” said Spagnola.

As senior superintendent of mechanical services with Quinnipiac’s facilities team, Spagnola said it was amazing to see the North Haven Campus transformed into a festive 5K run/walk course.

“I think it’s great, and the turnout is fantastic,” he said.

Racing down the home stretch, Tyler Deme ’29 was first over the finish line with a time of 18:02. A civil engineering major at the School of Computing & Engineering, Deme is also a member of the men’s cross-country team. 

"I had a great time running this morning. The 5K course was awesome and everyone was really cheerful, so it was a great atmosphere,” said Deme.

As they crossed the finish line, Anne Beckman ’23, DPT ’26, Gabrielle Berthiaume ’23, DPT ’26, and Abigail Coughlin ’23, DPT ’26, raised their clasped hands to celebrate completing Quinnipiac’s first Roaring Start 5K.

“We’re all roommates and we love working out and going to the gym every day, so we figured what could be better than doing this together,” said Beckman.

The three friends said joining Quinnipiac’s inaugural Roaring Start 5K was a great memory to add to their years of studying and rooming together.

“We live right down the street, and this place has been like home to us for six years. It’s really great to see everybody here and to see everybody so excited,” Berthiaume said.

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