Chancellor’s 5K Goes On Despite Rain
Participants Turn Out to Support Undergraduate Scholarships

Ioana Patringenaru | December 3, 2007

Students turned out in spite of the rain.

Unexpectedly heavy rain greeted San Diegans Friday morning. But it didn’t deter hundreds of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members who turned out for this year’s Chancellor's Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars. At least another 800 participants showed up to support the event.

They gathered at RIMAC Arena before the beginning of the event. Some wore leggings and carried umbrellas. Others opted for running shorts and sleeveless tops. Many said they decided to take part because of the event’s goal: raising funds for undergraduate scholarships.

“The fact that you came today under these conditions says a lot,” Chancellor Marye Anne Fox told the participants gathered at RIMAC.

About 1,500 people registered for the event, more than last year's 1402. An estimated 1,100 showed up Friday, including about 350 people who took part in the run/walk.

“We were thrilled with the impressive turnout of 5K participants, especially given the adverse weather,” said Reed Vickerman, vice president of corporate services for Amylin Pharmaceuticals and this year’s Chancellor’s Challenge 5K community co-chair and emcee. “The event proved extremely successful. Valuable dollars were raised for undergraduate scholarships and our attendees had even more fun at this year’s 5K than they have ever had before.”

Friday’s challenge raised about $240,000, Fox said, bringing the total of funds raised during the event’s 12-year history to $1.9 million. Fox gave a total of $45,000 in matching funds toward undergraduate scholarships. Alumnus Michael Robertson and his wife Leslie also kicked in more than $11,000.

Chancellor Marye Anne Fox (center), with UCSD alumnus Michael Robertson and his wife, Leslie.

Organizers took weather conditions into account. They set up a shorter course, from RIMAC to Galbraith Hall at Revelle College and back. No one was timed this year.

But William Walkowicz, a graduate student in chemistry, was the first to cross the finish line, just as he did last year. “I had to defend the title,” he said when asked why he decided to turn out this year.

Walcowicz was a little soaked, but it didn’t seem to bother him. “It wasn’t too bad,” he said. Anne Ruminski, the first woman to cross the finish line Friday, echoed his comments. “It was a a little slippery,” she said. She added she decided to run for a third year because of the event’s goals.

“It’s a very good cause,” she said. “And it’s a fun race.”

In fact, Ruminski wasn’t the only one who said she enjoyed herself Friday. Kimberly Pytel, a staff member at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in La Jolla, said she had fun running through puddles. “I felt like a three-year-old again,” she joked. Before the race, her colleague Melissa McAlonis-Downes said she didn’t fear the rain. “I’m from the East Coast,” she explained.

Others took a rain check. Becky Burrola, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said she didn’t feel up to the rainy challege. She, Cathy Pugh and April Hunter-Smiley, from biological sciences, were enjoying a lunch of sandwiches, fruits and chips at RIMAC while waiting for the runners and walkers. Hunter-Smiley is a volunteer for the Chancellor’s 5K.

“I just wanted to be here for support,” she said. “It’s amazing that they’re running in this rain.”