Hillel, UCSB’s Jewish student organization, invited over 200 students, faculty and their families to run for fun and free food Sunday in its second annual 5K Bagel Run.

The Bagel Run, a recreational run-walk event open to all ages, began at 10:30 Sunday morning at the Hillel house at 781 Embarcadero del Mar in Isla Vista. The 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) course took participants along the bike path to the UCSB lagoon and past the on-campus dorms before leading them back to the house where the race began. Once they reached the finish line, participants were treated to bagels with cream cheese and lox, Jewish klezmer music and a free Bagel Run T-shirt.

History professor and Hillel member Laura Kalman said she established the Bagel Run last year with the goal of encouraging people to enjoy themselves while getting some fresh air and exercise.

“So many of these things are held to raise money,” Kalman said. “We really wanted people to have fun.”

Kalman said the run was also created to bring attention to Hillel and attract more members to the organization.

“We have such a great Hillel here and we just wanted to show it off,” Kalman said.

This year, the Bagel Run had many more participants than last year. Kalman said that last year’s run had about 50 participants. Kalman said she was inspired by her friend, University of Pennsylvania law professor Sara Gordon, who founded a Philadelphia-based running club called the Wissahickon Wanderers. The Wanderers compete in races all over the world, and sponsor an annual race in Pennsylvania called the Roxborough 5K.

“The Wanderers are the genius behind the race,” Kalman said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Gordon, who flew from Philadelphia to Santa Barbara to help out with the event, ran a half-marathon in Santa Barbara and Montecito along with husband Dan Gordon and friend Alison Games to find pledges to pay for the Bagel Run T-shirts. I.V. Bagel Caf