Yesterday, Wednesday, March 17 marked the start of the “Atoms Challenge” competition. The fundraiser, which is the Athletic Department’s biggest of the year, will consist of four competitions for all Spring sports athletes. Each team will participate in a five-kilometer run/walk and push-up, pull-up, and sit-up competitions each lasting 60 seconds.

It all began last week when Coach Dick Adams handed out ten red envelopes to each spring athlete at an after-school meeting. He explained that every student is responsible for addressing and putting stamps on each of the ten envelopes to mail to family and friends. The school will then mail the envelopes, allowing recipients to fill out a sponsor sheet and donate money if they please.

“The beauty of it is no one has to knock on doors or make phone calls,” said Adams, who believes that mailing the requests will be easier for both students and sponsors.

The event did not truly start, however, until yesterday at 2:30 p.m., when members from each Spring sport team met on the track.

“We try to get all of our teams out there and we’ll start them and it’s a very ceremonial event,” said Adams of the kickoff race held yesterday.

As soon as everyone had gathered behind the starting line, Adams gave a brief speech clarifying what they would be doing. Before this, many students had thought that the run was merely a one-lap jog around the track, but as Adams explained, it was really an all out sprint worth fighting for.

This energized the crowd, and as they tried to get as close to the start as possible, a whistle sounded to send them off. With this, they dashed from the start and along the track.

At first it was merely a mass of runners sprinting around the track, but as the race continued, more and more people fell back and only a few emerged as front-runners in the race.

By the end, many had left the crowd behind, including senior and varsity hurdler Alhaji Bah, who was the first to finish the race. “I feel good to know that I am representing my team and my school,” said Bah while taking in a deep breath following his victory. “I’m not even one of the best and I’m proud to have won.”

Many other students also seemed overjoyed by top finishes in the race and felt it was a great chance to have fun competing with their friends and fellow athletes.

Sophomore lacrosse player Ahmad Haj-Assad was especially enthusiastic about his run. “It was tough in the beginning,” he said. “A lot of people were pushing it, but I sped up at the end and came in fourth place.”

Now that the first part of the challenge is over, it will be up to Spring coaches to finish the remainder of the competition. Some will choose to take time out of their practices while others will count what they do daily towards the challenge, but either way each and every spring athlete will complete the four events.

Then the only thing left to do will be to wait for donations that will surely benefit the Athletic Department and Annandale’s student athletes. What could be much easier? Not much, according to Adams, whose calls the event “a great fundraiser.” He continued to praise the annual event calling it, “very simple, very easy, and very effective.”