Much of Gainesville was still asleep Saturday morning when several hundred University of Florida students and community members took off from a fog-shrouded Flavet Field. With donations tied to their participation in the Race for Inclusion, a three-mile jaunt around Lake Alice, they raised more than $34,800 for Special Olympics Florida.  

The annual event, which features athletes with and without intellectual disabilities running and walking the course together, functions as an awareness campaign, said Berit Amlie, Special Olympics Florida chief administrative officer.

“It breaks down barriers, the concept that people are so different that you can’t get along,” Amlie said.

For the third consecutive year, UF student Mason Kawaja crossed the finish line first, completing the 5K course in about 18 minutes. He said he and fellow members of the UF Orthopedic and Athletic Medicine Club fundraised throughout the semester to support the Special Olympics cause.

“We really appreciate how they’re empowering inclusivity in the athletic field, something we don’t always see because athletics are so (driven) by competition and performance level,” Kawaja said.

Race for Inclusion events conducted across the state support Special Olympics Florida’s mission of providing engagement and community for athletes with intellectual disabilities. The nonprofit, a four-star charity, facilitates free sports training and competition, health screenings and leadership programs for more than 80,000 Floridians.

UF Special Olympics, a club that connects UF students with Special Olympics athletes for intramural sports and other activities, organized the Gainesville event, now in its fifth year. An executive board consisting of both students and Special Olympics athletes leads the club.

Evan Combs, senior manager of sports training and competition for Special Olympics Florida’s northeast region, is a former club member who now oversees the group.

“The real goal is to get people to play alongside each other as part of a team because whenever you’re on a team with people, you forget that maybe somebody has a disability,” Combs said. “You forget the challenges that people are facing, and you’re really just playing as a team. It creates friendships. It creates meaningful connections.”

Like so many entities under the Special Olympics umbrella, the club has fostered community for people who might otherwise feel marginalized.

“In high school, I did not have the opportunity to play any sports,” said Michael Smith, a UF Special Olympics athlete leader.

Now Smith plays several sports, including soccer, which he excels at. On Saturday, he carried the U.S. flag as the crowd sang the national anthem before the race.

Special Olympics has opened similar doors for Jason Cacciotti, an athlete leader with the club who is specially trained as a Special Olympics spokesperson. He plays flag football, golf, volleyball, tennis, soccer and bocce.

“You name it, I do it all,” Cacciotti said with a note of pride. “I do all the sports.”