The Race Itself
On Friday April 25th, all Uni students who are in PE will run in the Illinois 5k for their PE final. The race will start at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Street and end at 10 p.m. at the Memorial Stadium, with runners being shown on the big TV as they run towards the finish line.
Race History
The 5k was first introduced to Uni High in 1985 by Sally Walker, who was the athletic director at the time. The purpose of the 5k was (and still is) a way for students to increase their cardiovascular health, endurance, and build community within the school. Initially, the 5k was managed by Uni itself but in 2017, the Uni 5k was switched with the Illinois 5k.
Even years later, the 5k is still a yearly tradition that Uni does, and even if a student isn’t running in the race, they’ll still be involved through helping pick up trash for other races throughout the weekend following it.
How Uni goes about the 5k
While general admission to run the 5k can range from $35 to $50 per person (depending on what time you sign up), Uni is able to sign up at a discounted price of $10 per person with a portion of this being paid by student registration fees and the rest being paid by the school.
Despite the 5k being a yearly tradition at Uni, it is not directly mentioned on Uni’s website. The only place it is mentioned is under a section regarding room 202 in Kenney mentioning how the classroom is “a room to prepare Uni students for their annual 5K run.”
Fuzzy Areas and Responses
When signing up for the 5k, all students who are in PE are led through the registration process by their PE teacher(s). For this process, students who are under eighteen have to fake their age on the registration form in order to run the race. PE teacher Coach Luke Bronowski said that while students do have to fabricate their age when registering, the athletic department will personally contact the director of the Illinois 5k and put in a student’s correct birth date to make sure the staff are aware of who’s running the race.
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If a student is unable to register themself during the prescribed time, students are encouraged to run under another student’s name and registration information. When asked about this, Coach Rachael Brewer mentions how bibs will only be switched if both students involved agree to the switch, and the director of the race will be informed of any changes especially regarding medical conditions. She also stresses that this has never happened before.
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During the school year, Uni students will run two timed races in class to prepare for the 5k, the first one being the one mile and the second one being two miles. After these races are run, PE teachers will add up the two times and add an additional ten minutes to that sum and tell the students to try to run under this time for the 5k. Coach Brewer mentions how Uni teachers are very lenient and understanding about the time limitation and mentions how it’s supposed to be a “general guide” instead of a harsh limitation. If a student were to be a few minutes over their time, they will not have to redo the 5k. Because of this, she says that no one has failed the 5k final so far.
