Loretto’s annual Nun Run was held on February 4, 2023, and started at 9 a.m.

Goody bags that included both the Nun Run t-shirts and some snacks were handed out to the first 350 participants to sign up on the Friday before the Nun Run.

The goody bags were prepared that Thursday by the goody bag committee.

The extra snacks were donated to Sacred Heart Church.

The senior class was asked to get to school before 7 a.m. in order to set up and go over any last-minute details.

Some seniors dressed up as nuns and were placed around the route in order to cheer on participants and boost morale.

Loretto senior Stephanie Raney who dressed up as a nun said, “I volunteered to be a nun for service hours since two hours would be given for dressing up and three were given for bringing the costumes.

It was a very entertaining and fun experience because people thought it was funny and they wanted to take pictures with us.”

This year, the Pre-Vet club had the idea to partner with Rescue Runners, which is a program dedicated to recruiting volunteers to walk and interact with shelter dogs.

Pre-Vet Secretary and Loretto senior Raquel Landin said, “Pre-Vet worked by bringing dogs to have them run and interact with people. 

Our president Jacquelynn Velasquez pretty much planned the whole thing along with the Rescue Runners and it went really well.

We hope that it will be continued throughout the years as a new Nun Run and Pre-Vet tradition.”

A behavior report card was given to the participants who volunteered to walk a dog, and the dog was graded based on their behavior during the run.

Participants were encouraged to pick up a dog from the shelter and take them either on a walk or a run in order to allow them to interact with them.

Pre-Vet President Jacquelynn Velasquez and Loretto senior said, “I organized this with the Rescue Runners of El Paso that partnered with Animal of El Paso, and the purpose of this was to show the community the dogs we all tend to turn our cheeks to.

This was a very interesting project and I couldn’t have gotten it done without the help of my Vice President, Ximena Gutierrez, Secretary Raquel Landin, and our sponsor Dr. Benavidez.

They helped me transport the dogs to and from Loretto.”

This was planned to help aid in adoptions from Animal Services since the city-run shelter is overwhelmed with animals.

The runner who came in the first place was Bernard Martinez, a Cathedral senior.

Second place went to Jacob Noble, another Cathedral senior.

Overall, the Nun Run was a success this year, and sharing it with these animals made it even more enjoyable.