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The snow has melted, the sun is shining, and 5K season has arrived. For the last couple of weeks flyers have been tacked on bulletin boards, the Announcements folder on FirstClass has been spammed and University of Maine students have been out and about, armed with iPods, water bottles and some serious motivation.
Several 5K races are being held in the upcoming weeks- some for charity, others just for fun.
“The 5K is great because whether you’re a once-a-week jogger or a hardcore distance runner, the race continues to challenge you. Some people might challenge themselves to simply finish the race; others might challenge themselves to run it in a certain amount of time,” said Black Bear distance runner Corey Bean.
The series of five races begins with the 2nd annual Healthy High 5K on Monday, April 20 at 4:20 p.m. The race starts and ends at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center and prizes are awarded to the top male and female runner, as well as the runner with the most creative costume. The event is free for students and is sponsored by several campus groups.
“The benefits of physical activity are well known, but people don’t often think about the negative effect that marijuana, alcohol and other drugs can have on physical activity,” said Amanda Millen, who works for Alcohol and Drug Education Programs. “This race provides an activity that students can engage in that does not involve marijuana or other drugs, and it allows us to reach a large number of students.”
Two 5K races will be held on Saturday, April 25. Unfortunately, they both have a 9 a.m. start time. The Camp Capella 5K is sponsored by the UMaine Navy ROTC. All proceeds will go to Camp Capella, a summer camp for children with developmental and physical disabilities. Runners will meet at the Field House.
The Wes Jordan 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Run will also kick off at 9 a.m. Proceeds from that race will benefit the American Cancer Society. Runners will meet at Lengyel Hall, home of the Wes Jordan Athletic Training Complex. Jordan, who passed away in 2002, was an athletic trainer at UMaine for 32 years.
The sisters of Alpha Phi will host the Move Your Phi’t 5K on Sunday, April 26 at 11 a.m. The race will begin at the Buchanan Alumni House. The sisters ask that people bring $5 to support Cardiac Care Research and Education, a charity they have supported for more than 60 years. They will be awarding prizes to the top male and female finishers and raffling off a basketball signed by Celtics guard Ray Allen.
“We always have tremendous support from the Greek community for Move Your Phi’t, and with this being our seventh annual event, we are certainly expecting to see a great turnout,” said Carissa Kephart, Alpha Phi’s vice-president of marketing.
Finally, the Maine Day 5K will be held on April 29 at 4 p.m. It is being sponsored by Alternative Spring Break and the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The registration fee is $5. Prizes will be awarded to the top male and female finishers in each age division.
The string of road races has drawn interest from several clubs on campus as a team-building exercise.
“We hope to have 10 to 20 of our runners competing over this next week, which is a pretty decent turnout. I think that the number of races in close proximity to Orono has really encouraged the surge in participation,” said track club president Dillon Bates. “This chain of races provides a convenient bridge between the end of our outdoor season and the start of summer meets. I hope to see a lot of our runners capitalizing on it.”
Bates also urged participants to contact him on FirstClass for more information on the Club Track Team.
If nothing else, summer is around the corner and beaches beckon. That winter layer everyone packed on is not going to burn itself off. Beyond that, America’s struggles with vascular health and obesity are well-documented. There’s no better time than now to start living healthy. No matter which race it is, try to make it out to at least one. Rarely does the opportunity come along for a person to reward themselves as well as others. Take advantage.
