Trick or Treat, Move your Feet

On your mark, get set, go! After a week of rainfall, we finally had rays of sunshine beaming down on Halloween morning, just in time for the SEMO Sport Management 5K Fund Run. This year's 5K was held at the Cape County Park North which provided for a great environment with very little traffic flow. The SEMO Sport Management class planned for and anticipated this day since they first stepped into the classroom in August. On October 31st, they were able to see all their hard work go into action. With 31 registered participants, the race kicked off at 10 a.m.

After the race, there were awards given out to the winners with first place overall for males going to Mason Shank with a time of 20:55. Mason who is originally from St. Louis runs every week but this was his first ever 5K race. The first place overall in the women's category went to Lu Yan with a time of26:31. Lu Yan who is originally from China said she was "not expecting to win but came to have fun."

Shannon Aldridge who ran in the 5K requested a special number to wear, number 21. Shannon has a daughter Sahara "Hoops" Aldridge who passed away on November 5, 2007 of cancer. Sahara was diagnosed at age 12; she had a tumor in her brain stem. Sahara passed away at age 13. The last thing Shannon talked to his daughter about was sports. In Sahara's memory, Shannon has a workout he calls "Sahara Shape". The number Sahara wore on her jersey while playing all kinds of sports, was number 21. Shannon now wears number 21 in her memory. Shannon said when he is running, he, "concentrates only on running and feels her with him." Also while running, Shannon always wears a bright colored neon shirt so Anna Phelps can see him, she's not as fast as Shannon, but the bright shirts he wears gives Anna something to chase after. Shannon try's to run in every 5K possible, bringing Sahara's presence, he stated, "part of her goes with me."

The Sport Management 5K run was a success, with excited runners ranging from age 13 to over 50 years old. There were walkers, runners, and even Carlen Mulholland running while pushing her baby in a stroller. The Student Athletic Trainer's Association at SEMO helped out by providing water to all runners at the halfway point in the race.

Congratulations to the winners! For pictures of the race please visit: http://s615.photobucket.com/albums/tt237/SM_5K/