Chancellor 5K Competitors Help Celebrate Two Campus Milestones

Ioana Patringenaru | October 25, 2010

It was a weekend of milestones at UC San Diego as the Chancellor’s Challenge 5K celebrated its 15th anniversary Friday while the university as a whole is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. That made Friday’s event extra special, said Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.

“We truly have achieved the extraordinary over the past five decades, and I know we’ll have another successful 50 years,” Fox said.

More than 1,400 members of the UC San Diego
community turned out for Friday's event.

In honor of the university’s milestone anniversary, Fox added $5,000 for every $50,000 raised at the 5K, and matched new and increased gifts with discretionary funds up to $50,000.

The 5K has become one of the campus’ enduring traditions, Vice Chancellor Penny Rue said after the race. Shaun Travers, director of the campus’ LGBT Resource Center, echoed her comments. “UCSD is such a young institution,” he said. “This, to me, is so much a tradition.”

Like many other participants, Travers said he turns out because the event raises money for student scholarships. He has been taking part since he first came to UCSD in 2001. Chancellor Fox said that’s the reason why the 5K is one of her favorite events on campus.

The event has provided funds for more than 800 scholarships for undergraduate students and has raised about $2.3 million. As of Friday afternoon, the 2010 5K had raised  $211,189. In all, 1,425 members of the UCSD community turned out for the event.

Dan Lesser, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics, came in first in just 16 minutes and six seconds. He didn’t expect to win, he said. “There are a lot of strong athletes here,” he said. “But it’s not so much about the competition. It’s the spirit of the event.”

Participants warm up before they set off.

He was the faculty representative for the race’s Chancellor’s Champion contest, in which students, faculty, staff and alumni vie against each other in friendly competition. The winner, in this case Lesser, receives a roaming award, engraved with their name, and lunch with Fox.

Lesser ran cross-country and track as an undergraduate at Brown University before competing in marathons as a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh. He then went on to run the Los Angeles Marathon during his pediatric residency.

After he was selected as a Chancellor’s Champion, he stepped up his training, rising at 5:30 a.m. to run in his neighborhood before his daughters, a 2 ½-year-old and a 7-month-old, wake up. “It’s a nice way to start the day,” he said.

This year’s participants were encouraged to wear vintage clothing in honor of the university’s 50th anniversary. The campus’ triathlon team was wearing 1980s-inspired clothing. Nick DeNezzo, a 5th-year senior and cognitive science student admitted he might have taken things a little far. He was wearing a long-haired wig, a fake mustache, an extremely short muscle shirt and a pair of Speedos. “It’s a team-bonding event,” he said when asked why he and follow students turned out. “It gets everyone involved and we have a good time together.”

Nick DeNezzo, a member of the UCSD triathlon
team, dressed up in 1980s-inspired attire for the
race.

Others said they turn out for a good workout. Martha Barry, the office manager in the Office of Post Award Financial Services, has been walking at the event for the past seven years.

“It’s the energy, the excitement and the exercise,” she said, when asked was keeps her coming back.  

Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Winners

STUDENTS:
Women 2nd	Katherine Ellis 20:15	Men 2nd	William Pandori 17:10
Women 1st	Whitney McFadden 19:39	Men 1st	Tim Tucey 16:58
SPONSORS AND COMMUNITY FRIENDS:
Women 2nd	Errolyn Yavorsky  25:05	Men 2nd	Jeff McNight 19:14
Women 1st	Elaine Hill 24:40	Men 1st	Marshall Verano 18:30
SENIORS:
Women 2nd	Kara Kersjes 27.34	Men 2nd	Hasan Kayali 19:57
Women 1st	Penny Coppernoll 26:44	Men 1st	Kim McDonald 19:19
FACULTY:
Women 2nd	Lelli Van Den Einde 23:51	Men 2nd	Michael Todd 18:37
Women 1st	Elise Morgan 22:17	Men 1st	Dan Lesser 16:06
STAFF:
Women 2nd	Nancy Wilkins Diehr 22:29	Men 2nd	Chris Raub 18:15
Women 1st	Diana Barnard 21:10	Men 1st	Chris Van Schie 17:53
ALUMNI:
Women 2nd	Anna Lee McGregor 23:08	Men 2nd	Nick Sigmon 16:32
Women 1st	Amanda Mason 22:26	Men 1st	Neal Harder 16:25

Chancellor's Challenge 5K Sponsors

This year's sponsors include: Darcy & Robert Bingham, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Arthur Brody & Phyllis Cohn, Celgene, Dr. Seuss Foundation, Pfizer Inc., Peter '67 and Peggy Preuss, Alan Swinney '89, UCSD Alumni Association, UCSD Emeriti Association, USE Credit Union, Elizabeth Van Denburgh '78, Chanelle '05, Shawna, Reed3, Jennifer & Reed, Andrew & Erna Viterbi, The York Girls! Sybil, Cythia, Rachel '71, John A. Neves '98, UCSD Retirement Association, Regents Bank, Patty '83 and Marc '79 Brutten, The Burnham Foundation, Pauline Foster, Gary Curtis '69, Darcel Hulse, Pamela Youngdahl Turner '69, Chancellor's Associates Young Alumni (CAYA), Mark Brissette '79, Erik T. Engelson '82, Salah M. Hassanein, Amy Shuss & Robert Marren, Drs. Andrew & Anne McCammon, Oceanids, Peterson Charitable Foundation, The Rose Foundation, Kwan and Marion So, UCSD External & Business Affairs, Dr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Watson, Teresa Young '74, Kim Signoret-Paar & Hans P. Paar, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., Renato and Maureen Dulbecco, Juli Larsen & James Forbes, Penny Rue and Dan Welch, UCSD Facutly Club/Carraige Trade Catering, Suzanne and Edward Weissman and Tony and Margaret Yip.