The rain held off long enough for the runners of the 5K and 10K Hodag Run For Your Life to get back to the finish line, after looping around the streets of Rhinelander this morning. A few sprinkles fell on the kids' Chase the Hodag Run around the courthouse, but not that anyone noticed or cared.
This was the third annual Hodag Run, a fundraiser for the YMCA of the Northwoods' Strong Kids Campaign, which provides scholarships for children, families and individuals so that no one is turned away from the Y for inability to pay.
One of the YMCA organizers, Marilyn Duschl, said the race went well, even though attendance was down slightly from last year. "We had 209 in the 5K and 10K," she said, "and 109 in the kids' race." Same-day registration was less than last year, she noted, most likely because of the rainy weather. "We had lots of great volunteers," she said, "which made it a good race, and of course, the Kids' Race was a lot of fun."
The funds raised for the YMCA were down also from last year, affected by the lower registration numbers and "a good amount down in sponsorships," she said. Last year raised about $12,000. "We won't come near that this year. Probably because of the economy."
The top runners for the 10K were:
- Willow Smith, 17, Rhinelander, 39:04.2
- Larry Lapachin, 36, Rhinelander, 39:22.5
- Shannon Pallardy, 25, LaCrosse, 41:20.9
The top runners for the 5K were:
- Ryan Anderson, 17, Rhinelander, 17:20.5
- Tim Schmidt, 15, Rhinelander, 17:52.2
- Maureen Drewson, 42, Minocqua, 18:31.9
The race course director was Terry Goldbach; for the Chase the Hodag Kids' Race, the director was Dave Daniels. Board member and chief sponsorship fundraiser was Dave Havel.
