Hanover Township Food Pantry Benefits from Knights' 5K

Mary's Millennium Council #12801 of Streamwood, IL hosted their fourth annual Knights Challenge 5K Run / Walk / Kids Fun Dash on Saturday, October 7th. After weeks of gorgeous weekends, with above normal temperatures, the day before the race brought rain to the area. As Saturday morning dawned, organizers of the Knights Challenge anxiously looked out their windows to see if it was raining. Fortunately, it was not. The skies were overcast, and there were typical fall temperatures, but the weather forecast had been updated with heavy rain no longer anticipated until perhaps later in the afternoon. At race time the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds, a gentle breeze was blowing, and precipitation was limited to a couple periods of brief sprinkles - good conditions for a 5K.

The 5K kicked off at 8:30 AM with 50 participants, many of whom had participated in each of the past races. Since there were reduced registration fees for families and students this year, and with the addition of the Kids Fun Dash, there was an increase in groups participating in the events.

Brother Knight Dan Klein was the first male runner to cross the finish line at 20:45.6. Colleen Clesen, from St. Charles, was the first female to cross the finish line at 24:40.2. Congratulations to both of them for winning the overall trophies, and to all participants that placed first, second, or third in their individual age brackets, who received medals.

There are so many people to thank in conjunction with the event. Thank you to Father Gregg Gorczyca, Streamwood Fire and Police Department, Hanover Township, Brother Knights & Ladies, St. John's Crush teens, St. John's This Man is You, and Race Time Inc. for helping make this event a success. Special thanks to our sponsors: St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Packaging By Design, The Ron Donofrio Family, Hanover Township (Brian P. McGuire, Supervisor & Thomas Smogolski, Assessor ), Advance Health & Wellness, Countryside Funeral Home & Crematory, Larry Szmurlo (Knights of Columbus Insurance), and Representative Fred Crespo.

Our additional sponsors, who provided food, beverages and other items for race day were Terri Lynn Inc. (Elgin), Dunkin' Donuts, Valli Produce, Mariano's, Moretti's, Buffalo Wild Wings (all from Hoffman Estates), Pure Hockey (Schaumburg) , Sams Club (Streamwood) and Brother Knight Dan Zych.

Thanks to their generosity, all our expenses were covered, the participants had water, healthy snacks, and goody bags to take home as a remembrance. The proceeds will benefit the Hanover Township Food Pantry. Complete race details can be found on our website 5k.kofc12801.org.