MATTAPOISETT — Mothers pushed strollers, carried their children and ran hand-in-hand with their kids under a blue, cloudless sky during the second annual Run Like a Mother 5k on Sunday, May 11.

With the start and finish line at the Mattapoisett Town Wharf, just over 360 people participated in the race, with all proceeds set to go toward supporting postpartum mothers on the South Coast.

“It was great because it wasn’t just some random event,” said Casey DeMello of Fairhaven, who took part in the race as a family event with her nieces, best friend, parents and in-laws.

“It made me more willing to get more people involved — the more the merrier,” she said.

DeMello added that running in the race was also a great way to start the holiday since “you know you’re going to be indulging in treats and stuff at a holiday event.”

Kristie Simmons of Freetown ran the Run Like a Mother 5k last year and has run other Mother’s Day races in past years, stating that every year her daughters always run the last leg of the race with her.

“They want to run the whole thing with me eventually, but they always jump in at the end,” she said. “We run this every year, and they want to join with me.”

Simmons called running with her kids “heart warming [and] fulfilling.”

“There’s a lot of joy in me, just to see them take interest in the things that I do, and hopefully they want to do it when they get older,” she said.

Nicole Reedy of Mattapoisett finished the race with one daughter in her arms and the other running alongside her.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” she said. “Having them run with me, I think it’s a practice of patience from running alone.”

Reedy, who is a marathon runner, picked up her kids at Ned’s Point at around the halfway mark of the race.

“It was just nice to be able to have something on and do something physical and active with them,” she said.

In addition to getting the chance to run with her kids and raising money to support postpartum women, Simmons said the event is also a great way to bring different moms together.

“I think it’s a great event for moms and families to get out here and have a good time,” Reedy said.