Frozen Foot 5k drew community members as well as CU students

Buffaloes not the only ones that stampeded around campus Sunday

While most of Boulder was still dozing or reading the newspaper Sunday morning, about 200 CU students and community members were running more than 3 miles throughout CU’s campus.

The Frozen Foot 5k, which kicked off at 9 a.m., is the CU Triathlon Team’s biggest fund raiser of the year. The race helps to finance their trip to the 2008 Collegiate National Championship in April.

Danielle Weiss, the team’s president and a 21-year-old senior psychology major, said this year’s race was the best in the event’s 10-year history. Weiss was especially pleased with the wide variety of people who participated.

“Everyone from brand new runners to an Olympic contestant were out there,” she said.

Other runners included a pregnant woman, a man running for the first time after getting a defibrillator and a group of girls with ripped ponchos and Magic-Markered mustaches. People from 8 to 63 years old ran side by side on a course that began at Duane Physics and stretched from Regent Drive to the corner of Broadway Street and University Avenue.

Joseph Manilafasha, a 17-year-old from Denver North, was the overall winner of the race, running the 5 kilometers in 15 minutes, 28 seconds.

Kathryn Eastley, the race director and a 22-year-old senior integrative physiology major, said while the event was a race, participants were rewarded regardless of their finish times.

“We want to encourage people of all abilities to run,” Eastley said.

A randomized list of runners received prizes including hydration packs, racing T-shirts, hour massages and gift certificates to local businesses.

Ian Glass, an 18-year-old freshman open-option major, said he was impressed during his first time running in the event.

“This was a really good idea and was really well put together,” Glass said. “There should be more events like this.”

According to Weiss, there will be. She said the triathlon team plans to continue holding the event for many years to come. The money raised this year, about $5,000, will help take the team to nationals where she said they hope to win their 12th championship title.

Weiss credited the increased publicity, a larger number of sponsors and the incorporation of an electronic chip timing system to the event’s success.

The nice weather didn’t hurt either. With temperatures almost reaching 40 degrees, the event lacked the snow and freezing conditions that have been characteristic of past years.

“If anything, there were just frozen fingers,” Weiss said.

Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Morgan Keys at morgan.keys@colorado.edu.