As cross-country runner Charlie Knuth '08 crossed the finish line, he had finished and won yet another race. But this race wouldn't win a conference championship. It wouldn't be mentioned on the college website. It raised money for hungry families and brought the town of Grinnell and the college closer together.
On May 3, the fourth annual Hoofin' It 5k Run/Walk will take place. Beginning at Merrill Park at 10 a.m., the run will take place not only to promote community fitness but also to raise money for charity. Sign up for Hoofin' It has already begun and will continue until the day of the race.
This year, one of the main organizers is Erin Sindewald '08, a Mortar Board member and Grinnell cross-country runner. "I've been really interested in it since first year and I wanted to get involved, and being a runner, road races have a place in my heart," said Sindewald. "It's a competition but everybody's working together for the same cause which is something--this is really cheesy--but it's really beautiful."
All proceeds of the run go towards the Mid-Iowa Community Action Group (MICA) and Heifer International. While MICA provides food items locally to low-income residents, Heifer International works to end poverty and hunger abroad.
Since its creation by three Grinnell students, the event has been taken into the care of Mortar Board. Mortar Board, described as "a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership and service," puts together a committee at the beginning of the year to organize the event.
Sarah Boyer and Nick Merklin '08, both also organizers of the event, also like to see the involvement of the town of Grinnell. "I like events that involve the community. It's wrong to believe that the college is insular to the town around of it," said Boyer. "Hoofin' It bridges the gap between college and town."
One way in which the committee bridges this gap is by purchasing t-shirts for the event from a local shop. "Awards Unlimited does our t-shirts," said Sindewald. "We could go elsewhere and probably get shirts for cheaper but I think that keeping it local and focused on Grinnell and Grinnell businesses is something that's good."
The committee is also in the process of getting contributions from town members and businesses to support the cause. "We go into town and ask for money and donations to offset the cost of the race," said Sindewald. "We also ask for gift certificates from prizes which is important because it draws more students and town members to participate."
Though Hoofin' It is only in its fourth year, the organization already seems to draw many participants. "We had over 200 participants last year and are hoping for even more this year," said Boyer.
Many of these participants are members of the track and cross country teams. "Just about [all the cross country team] participates," said Knuth. "But since it's during the track season, we're not supposed to go balls to walls."
In order to get entries from outside of just Grinnell, the event has been posted online on several running forum websites. "It brings people from Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids to come and participate, which is nice to get a little competition for cross-country runners," said Merklin. "We make sure to do it a weekend that there isn't a meet so that runners can participate"
Registration forms are available at Burling, the JRC information desk, the PEC, Saints Rest, HyVee and Fairway. Participation fee is $12 before April 28, $15 before May 2, and $20 the day of the race.
