IU Columbus cross-country runners prepare for the start of last year’s Crimson Pride Open at Ceraland.
Submitted photo
The community will have the opportunity to run and show support with their local collegiate athletes next weekend.
The IU Columbus cross-country team will be hosting the Crimson Pride Open 5K Oct.11. The community race will begin at noon at Ceraland Park. The event costs $20, and all proceeds benefit the IU Columbus cross-country program.
The race also is a great way for the community to interact with the IUC runners, who also will take part in the event. There will be no collegiate women’s or men’s race preceding the event.
“The intent was to have a collegiate race, and it seems to be a bad month to try to do a new race because we couldn’t seem to get any interest from college teams,” IUC coach Tim Hoeflinger said. “Last year, we decided to use it as just a fundraiser, a community run for our team, and we are doing the same thing this year.”
Around 50 people signed up for the event last year, and Hoeflinger is hopeful to have about the same number or possibly more attending the event next weekend.
“If we are anywhere around that, that would be great. We were able to secure some sponsors this year, which helped pay for the expenses. Because of that, every single entry that we get will help benefit our team. It will go straight to our team” Hoeflinger said.
“It serves as a dual purpose. Technically, we want as many people to come out as we can,” he added. “We always want to raise awareness for our program. We’re really excited about what we’re building. Any exposure we can get for that is helpful to us, and then with entry fees and our sponsors this year, it’s helpful because it takes money to run. When you factor in all the pieces of it, we have to raise about $30,000 a year to insure we have enough to support our team, so it’s a pretty big chunk of change.”
People of all ages may sign up for the event at runsignup.com/Race/IN/Columbus/CrimsonPrideOpen
Awards will be given to the top five men and women. Snacks and refreshments will be provided following the race.
“There are awards for the top five in each race, so if you happen to be fast enough to win an award, then you’ll walk home with some hardware,” Hoeflinger said. “We’ve had kids in the past that have run. We try to have something that they can take home if they come and participate and are under 15 years old. Last year, we did water bottles. This year, I think we will have sunglasses. We will have something for the younger participates.”
Anyone with questions about the event can contact Hoeflinger at tihoef@iu.edu
