Wet and windy conditions couldn’t hamper the enthusiasm or speed of the runners in NE Campus’ Springtime Sprint 5K April 20.
David Villa in the male division and McKenzie Rogers in the female category won the annual race, a spring semester version of the Turkey Trot. Villa and Rogers turned in winning times of 19:14 and 22:27, respectively.
The 40 or so competitors ranged from serious runners to those treating the three miles as a leisurely walk with one walker even carrying her purse over her shoulder while she navigated the track.
Warned by race organizer Laura Bradford of the slippery conditions before the race, the runners took into account the slick track as it had been pouring rain only 20 minutes before the start of the race.
“It was challenging with all of the water,” NE student Vincent Garcia said. “My foot kept slipping.”
Villa, who turned in a first-mile time of 5:35, ran on the grass to gain more traction and said he ran hard but didn’t take the race too seriously.
“I just wanted to pace myself and have fun with it,” he said. “This was just conditioning for me. It was tough, though. I wanted to go under 20 [minutes], and I did it. I’m not as fast as I was in high school, but I was happy being out there.”
Rogers, who averaged just under seven and a half minutes per mile, won without training.
“I haven’t run in a year,” she said. “I felt it was gonna be rough, but it wasn’t hard. I ran track and cross country in high school, so this was no big deal.”
