Groovin' in the Grove on a Deep Freeze Day

This was my third consecutive year running in the annual Groovin' in the Grove 5K held on the Downers Grove Campus this past weekend on May 8th. And it was by far the coldest day ever to be running around the neighborhoods that surrounds Midwestern University; but I did it. And miraculously just 30 seconds over my average time.

This year's fete is the 21st annual. Nearly 375 runners gathered at the new Wellness/Recreation Hall in preparation for the start. I like that the start line was moved towards the back of campus, it gave many guests of the university a chance to check out our campus a little bit more than the previous start line location. From the back of campus, everyone could see the additional land and space we have which is used for recreational use. There is a baseball field, volleyball pit, soccer fields and the student apartment complex. Thank goodness the large herds of Canadian Geese were terrified by the number of people on campus as the back of campus tends to be a popular hangout for the birds.

This year, my eight year old daugher joined me by running in the 1K for her age group. She along with the friends she made that day eagerly awaited their turn to run at 10:00 AM, when most of the 5K runners had completed their runs. Needless to say, my daughter underestimated the art of running. She along with 15-20 other 8,9, and 10 year olds headed to the start line and prepared to blow each other in their own dusts waited for the blow from the whistle. And at the sound, they were off. My daughter sprinted to first place and was confident that she was going to finish first. She maintained her lead for about 3/4 of the way and just stopped. "Oh my goodness," I cried from my stance. I began to scream encouraging words and advice on slowing to a jog when she basically chose to ignore what I said and began to sprint her second and final lap. "Ha ha," we parents on the side laughed. "They'll learn running is hard. She finally finished in about 5th or 6th place. I can't remember, but was most happy with the medal that she and all the children received for participation.

The experience was great for us both and we've decided to run this race annually. We just hope for sunnier days!!

Check out some photos from my camera...

Me and Damia after I completed in 33:01.

PT First year students [l to r] Kacey Robinson,
Katherine Davis, Megan Staehlin, and Elise Robustelli.

Staff from the Information Technology Dept., Leeshelle
Short and Wendy Brenwall

Damia and her new friend.

Damia taking the lead in the 8-10 year old 1K.

Pharmacy 2nd year students [l to r] Jenise Stephen,
Sidra Zahid, Gillian Powderly

Vice President of Administration & Human Resources,
Angela Marty and her daughters.