Memorial 5K run honors former MU student
April 18, 2008
Runners make their way down East Rollins Street and past cheering fraternity and sorority members toward the finish line of the Chad Eatherly Memorial 5K Fun Run on Saturday. The race was part of Greek Week, and the route circled campus and Greektown.
More than 300 runners prepared in front of Brady Commons on Saturday morning before participating in the 10th annual Chad Eatherly Memorial 5K Fun Run.
The event, sponsored by Greek Week and the Wellness Resource Center, honors MU student Chad Eatherly, who died in March 1999.
Wellness Resource Director Kim Dude said around 340 runners participated in the noncompetitive memorial run. About 250 of those participants were MU students. Greek Week coordinator Stephanie Bradshaw said she felt the event included a good mixture of Greek students, other MU students community members and Eatherly’s family members that were involved.
“Because it was the 10th anniversary, a lot more of Chad’s friends and family came to the event,” Dude said. “People came in from as far as Washington, D.C., to participate in the event and to honor Chad’s memory.”
Dude said the Wellness Resource Center began teaming up with the Greek Week Steering Committee to organize the 5K about five years ago, and that Greek Week has helped to sponsor the event ever since.
“Working together made a huge difference in participation,” Dude said. “Also, (Chad) was a strong Greek student himself, so it’s a very logical partnership and a partnership we really appreciate.”
Bradshaw said most of the event planning was done by the Wellness Resource Center. Bradshaw said the Center acquired equipment, handled set-up and decorations and for the most part manned the event. Bradshaw said she and other Greek Week volunteers recruited Greek participants, encouraged involvement and helped with participant registration. Runners were given free water bottles and T-shirts for registering for the event.
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity member sophomore Jake Schuchmann participated in the race as a part of Greek Week, and said he ran both to support his fraternity and partner chapters for Greek Week and to support the cause.
“Implementing the Chad 5K into Greek Week was a really cool idea,” Schuchmann said. “It brings something personal and meaningful to the week’s events.”
Schuchmann was well prepared for the event, saying he had been training since January for a half-marathon, and was ready for Saturday’s event as a result. A 5K is 3.1 miles long.
Bradshaw said money raised came from the entry fee participants paid in order to be a part of the run. Bradshaw said Greek chapters paid an entry fee to have members participate in the run.
Dude said money raised from the 5K first goes to cover T-shirts and equipment rental for the actual event. The remaining money goes to a yearly scholarship awarded to a PEER Educator at MU.
“We try to find a PEER educator who exemplifies everything Chad stood for, and has that same sense of courage,” Dude said.
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