AMHERST — Apryl Sabadosa was the first woman to finish a 5-kilometer race in Amherst Sunday — and she did it barefoot.

Well, not technically. She wore two socks on each foot.

Sabadosa, 33, of Westfield, crossed the finish line in 18 minutes and 2 seconds at the Seventh Annual Daffodil Fun Run in Amherst, which benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.

“It feels comfortable and natural,” Sabadosa said of running barefoot, a technique she said gathered traction in the running community several years ago before fizzling recently.

Sam Morris, 24, of Deerfield, was the first overall to finish the 5k. His time was 16:08.

Sabadosa said she missed the start of the race, and had to weave through a pack of people to get out ahead to the start mat, so she said her net time was 17:22.

“It was wicked crowded,” she said. Sabadosa said her personal best for a 5k is 16:43.

The first-place women’s division finisher added: “I didn’t have a great day, but I had a great workout.”

Sabadosa, who runs for the Western Mass Distance Project Team, said she has run 15 marathons — most recently the Boston Marathon on April 17, where she finished in 2 hours, 56 minutes and 40 seconds.

That feat was a personal best for the runner, and she placed 60th in the women’s division that day. Though Sabadosa finished first Sunday, she will keep training.

“I don’t know what my best is,” Sabadosa said.

This was the first year the Daffodil Run had a 10k component, something Jen Loebel of Big Brothers Big Sisters said was designed to attract a different kind of competitor.

“We found that there were by far more 5k’s than 10k’s,” she said.

In the men’s division, Stuart Crawford finished first in 37 minutes and 37 seconds; Lilly Calderwood finished first among women, crossing the finish line in 41 minutes and 18 seconds.

Loebel said organizers registered more than 1,000 participants this year, up from 800 last year.

“It’s grown big-time,” she said, adding that through donations, sponsorships, and registrations, the group was on its way to meeting its $60,000-fundraising goal, and in so doing would be able to serve more Hampshire County youth.

Jen King, 45, of Wilbraham, and Keena Gravanda, 42, of Wilbraham, were running the 10k in part to train for a half-marathon next weekend in Rye, New Hampshire.

Gravanda said a lot of her success running is from “embracing a conversational pace.

“Once you got a nice form, speed will eventually come,” she said. “A mile is still a mile whether it’s 6 minutes or 15 minutes.”

King said she started running competitively two years ago — “couch to 5k.”

At first, “I couldn’t run more than a minute,” she said. Now, the two run about three times a week, anywhere from 3 to 8 miles a time.

Jim Walker, 70, of Belchertown, ran the 5k. He said he has run five marathons in the past.

“I train four days per week,” he said.

What does he like best about 5k’s, which he said he has run dozens of times?

“The camaraderie. There are just so many people engaging in fitness. It’s good to see that.”

John Thorpe, 45, of Northampton, said everyone has a different set of reasons for running and goals they would like to meet. His reason was to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“They always do a nice job with this event,” he said.

Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.

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