Runners at the third annual Hopkin10K will enjoy a scenic course that circles Lake Whitehall as they traverse 6.2 miles on Saturday, Dec. 7.

It won’t take too long before runners return to Victory Field for the race’s finish. But their impact will last a long time.

The race is held in memory of Andy Welzel, a lifelong Hopkinton resident and runner who died of cancer in 2006 at the age of 49, and proceeds support a scholarship in his name.

“Andy was a big coach, a big mentor in the town,” said Kathleen Karpe, a Hopkinton Running Club founder and Hopkin10K race committee member. “He coached everybody’s kids. He was a great guy who was always giving back to the community and was a member of the [Hopkinton Running Club].”

Karpe and fellow HRC founder Laura McKenzie started the Hopkin10K in Welzel’s honor, and the event is special for the Welzel family.

“Andy’s wife and his children are always at the race,” McKenzie said. “This year Andy’s brother will be there. So there’s that family side of it and it’s important for them.”

The race committee uses all of the Hopkin10K’s proceeds for the Andy Welzel Pay It Forward Scholarship Fund. The organization awards five scholarships to local high school seniors pursuing higher education.

Scholarship winners are chosen in part by showing how they were impacted by someone like Andy Welzel.

“We ask the seniors to write an essay, and the essay is about somebody who has made a difference in their lives, has changed their lives, or mentored them.” Karpe explained. “They’re about coaches, teachers, friends, family members, somebody who has made a difference in their life, and then they in turn have chosen to pay it forward in some way.”

The race entry fee is $45, which includes a technical race shirt, prizes to the top finishers in a variety of age divisions, and refreshments, including drinks from lead sponsor Start Line Brewing Company of Hopkinton.

For more information or to register for the Hopkin10K, go to racemenu.com/hopkin10k.