Mother nature bested by runners

It is 23 degrees and it feels like 14, most people are wrapped up in a quilt or warm blanket in the safety of their own bed at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday.

However, 284 brave souls battled the elements on the banks of the Mississippi running the Homecoming 5k at SCSU.

“It was freezing, you couldn’t get your pace going, because it was so slippery, there was ice the whole way,” said SCSU junior Sasha George.

This was George’s first time running the Homecoming 5k and it was colder than she expected.

“I ran Earth Day in March, and I figured it would be chilly but it was a lot warmer, it was windy, but it was warmer,” George said.

The first-place finisher was Chris Duffy, who had a time of 18:09, beating the next closest finisher by nearly a minute and a half.

It was also Duffy’s first time running the race.

“I am a graduate student at St. Cloud State and this is my first semester, so this is my first time doing this race,” Duffy said.

He was a little more accustomed to the weather, which may have been why he did so well.

“Every year I run the snowflake shuffle in St. Joe and it’s sometimes below zero for that,” Duffy said. “I think some of the people here aren’t quite used to it, I run year round so I’m used to the cold weather like that.”

George finished the race in just over 27 minutes.

“I could have done better, but it was fun,” George said.

Event coordinator Chirs Haukos is obviously passionate about the race.

“I think it’s a homecoming tradition, I think it brings in a lot of alumni, students, faculty and community together, I think its an excellent family event,” Haukos said. “I just love to see the families come out and do something enjoyable and healthy and just getting together with alumni and the student volunteers are my favorite all the students come out on a Saturday morning, 30-50 of them and help put this event on in 20 degree weather.”

Although the turnout was down about 80 from last year, Haukos said that the same amount preregistered.

“We had a really good turnout; better than expected, considering the weather,” Haukos said.

Everyone agreed that the weather was too cold, however, they still enjoyed the experience.

“At midnight when I saw that it was snowing and sleeting I was pretty bummed out, but it actually turned out better than I thought, because at least it was not really windy,” Haukos said.

“It was extremely chilly, it was extremely slippery, beyond that it was fun. My lungs were burning a little bit from the cold air,” Duffy said.

Despite the cold weather, most of the runners had fun and were glad for the experience.