Americus Takes to the Streets for the Heart and Sole 5K

by Jackson Carlstrom, Staff Writer

On the morning of September 11, a little over 100 people woke up, put on their running shoes, and ran in the Heart and Sole 5k. Runners, joggers, and walkers who participated in the 5k met at Global Graphics, where the race started and finished. Runners tackled 3.1 miles of streets through Americus with the help of the Americus Police department and the Georgia Southwestern State University Police.

This year’s Heart and Sole 5k was the second year for the event, having started with the first 5k in 2019. The 5k was organized by The Cole Varnum Agency and backed by several local sponsors in Americus.

The Cole Varnum Agency is a nonprofit charity organization founded in memory of Cole Varnum, a psychology major at Georgia Southwestern. Varnum was 21 years old when he unexpectedly passed away in 2018 due to sudden cardiac arrest from an unknown illness, later discovered to be cardiomegaly.Varnum was very active both on campus and in the community, and always loved volunteering and helping others. The Cole Varnum Agency seeks to potentially save lives by raising public awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and other heart related issues. Their goal is to help provide local schools, businesses, organizations, and individuals with AEDs, and to provide the opportunity for AED/CPR training and heart screenings. The Heart and Sole 5k was established in 2019 to bring awareness about these issues to Americus. All proceeds from the race went to benefit The Cole Varnum Agency.

“Specifically, with funds raised from this year’s race, I would like to begin planning a ‘Screen Your Teen’ event where middle school and high school aged students can receive a free heart screening. This event is still in the pre-planning stages, but I have hopes to be able to host this in the Spring/Summer of 2022, making it an annual event,” Devon Varnum, the brother of Cole Varnum, said about the proceeds earned from the Heart and Sole 5k. “The purpose of the ‘Screen Your Teen’ event is to hopefully detect unknown heart conditions in our local youth, enlighten the community of Sudden Cardiac Arrest and what measures to take if such were to occur, and to ultimately save lives.”

“I loved seeing members of the community of all ages participate because it goes to show how much our community cares about the Varnum family,” Madison Hobby, who participated for the first time with the GSW BCM group, said. “I was 100% shocked when I won a medal in general, let alone first place. I won first for women ages 20-24 and it was a great experience, but I’m just thankful I had the opportunity to participate in the Heart and Sole 5k.” Preparations are already being made for next year, so to keep up with any 2022 Heart and Sole 5k updates, or to keep up with everything The Cole Varnum Agency is up to, go and like The Cole Varnum Agency page on Facebook.