If you’re hoping to get into running but find yourself slightly intimidated by the process, there’s not a better race to start off with than the Healthy Suffolk Spring 5K Walk/Run.

This annual event, held this year at Bennett’s Creek Park on May 12 in partnership with Suffolk Parks and Recreation and the YMCA, is open to people of all ages and all abilities. As an example, Healthy Suffolk Program Manager Deborah Nadell pointed out that a 5-year-old has run this race in the past.

We’re thinking that if a 5-year-old can do it, most everybody in Suffolk can do it.

This is a great first event for running beginners because the registration cost is pretty cheap for this type of event, because it’s a low-pressure event in that it’s not individually timed, and because the event emphasizes simply living a more active lifestyle rather than running a 5-minute mile and winning races.

“It’s a good tune-up race, and it’s also a non-threatening kind of race if it’s your first time,” Nadell said this week. “You can always walk the course.”

It’s also not a huge crowd, and the likelihood of having to fight traffic on the way there is minimal. The last race had 210 participants. Many of these folks will be your friends and neighbors, and everybody will be glad to see you getting out and getting moving.

Even those who don’t participate in the run or the walk will be encouraged to keep moving while they wait by participating in minute-to-win-it-style games.

We thank Healthy Suffolk for its continuing commitment to encouraging a more active lifestyle for Suffolk citizens by providing a welcoming environment for all ages and abilities to become involved.