Fifth annual Got2Run to be held May 21 in Arlington Heights
The annual Got2Run for Education run/walk, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, will take place on Saturday, May 21, in Arlington Heights. Since its inception in 2012, this popular community event has raised more than $75,000 for local school wellness programs. Got2Run enables participants to select which schools receive their proceeds. Last year, 164 schools in 83 towns benefited from the funds raised.
Got2Run includes a 2.62-mile "micro-marathon" run/walk, an 8K (4.97-mile) run and a 2.62-mile unassisted wheelchair event, all of which begin and end at the southeast corner of Sigwalt Street and Arlington Heights Road (in the municipal parking lot across from the Arlington Heights Village Hall). The races start at 8 a.m. and run through the beautiful Scarsdale and Scarsdale Estates neighborhoods. This year's event will once again be promoted by 101.9 FM The Mix, which is a Champion Sponsor. Whip from the popular "Eric and Kathy Morning Show" will be race-day emcee, and he'll bring The Mix Road Crew van to hand out goodies and prizes.
The affordable registration fee has stayed the same: through May 15, $15 for students 19 and under and $25 for adults 20 and over. The fee includes a technical t-shirt, backpack tag, bumper sticker, refreshments and awards to the top three finishers for each race in each age group. In honor of the fifth anniversary, limited-edition Got2Run running hats will be available in gray, white or blue for $10 each.
Got2Run is organized by Northwest Road Runners, Inc., a local running club that was established in 2011 for the purpose of holding a yearly kids' running race. "Our goal is to encourage kids and their parents, teachers and school staff to become interested in running as a healthy lifestyle choice, not just for this year, but for the rest of their lives," says founding planning committee member and race director Jeff Chamberlin, a Mount Prospect father of a District 57 student and Prospect High School student. He says the group distributes all the money raised by the event back to the public or private school of the participants' choice to fund activities that encourage wellness. Participants simply check a box to select the school or write their school in if it's not listed.
"We are so pleased that this event has become such an established, popular community tradition in just five years," Chamberlin says. "There has been an incredible response and outpouring of support, including the large volunteer team and long list of sponsors. We couldn't do this without them."
Online registration for Got2Run is available at https://www.signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/112360 until Friday, May 25, with a $1.50 online transaction fee added to each registration. Participants also can print the registration form from the website and mail it in by May 14, or register on race day (print the form and bring it to the race). For those who register in advance, packets can be picked up from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 20, at Runners High-N-Tri, 121 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights.
Complete details can be found at www.got2run.org, including Couch-to-2.62 and Couch-to-8K training programs that will help runners prepare for race day.