SAN ANTONIO — Members of the San Antonio Clubhouse are working hard towards future goals, but also at training for a 5K this weekend.

"People that I almost love most in life are all here," said San Antonio Clubhouse member Elijah Johnson.

With help from UT Health San Antonio occupational therapy students Amy Honeck and Sarah Purcell, Clubhouse members are on a mission to get both their bodies and minds in top shape.

The Clubhouse is, first and foremost, a local community center that offers people who have mental illness hope and opportunities to achieve their full potential. The center calls itself "a community of people who are working together to achieve a common goal."

"We noticed together that a lot of the participants have been reaching a lot of goals for themselves so they've also been having a lot of personal successes which have been motivating them and adding to their self-esteem," Honek said.

This started as a year long project where members track their mileage to connect them to other clubhouses across the country.

Saturday they'll lace up their shoes for a 5K and test out their skills.

"We thought that 562 would be good for the year, but we're already at 900 miles and it's only May," Purcell said.

The idea to take a walk — started as a project for school — has become so much more for both of the students and their new friends.

"We both have family members with mental illness and until we started coming and volunteering we never heard of this service and we both felt like our family members could benefit from what the Clubhouse has to offer," Purcell said.

"I think that it's amazing when we get volunteers that go the extra mile both figuratively and literally to make sure that we feel like someone is out there rooting for us," Johnson said.

The 5K will take place this Saturday, May 12, at 9 a.m. on the Gold's Gym track in the Medical Center.

For more on the Clubhouse and UT Health San Antonio, visit here or here.