On a misty, crisp fall morning, families gathered for the third annual “Back to School 5k Run and 1k Obstacle Course” at Sartell Middle School.
Sponsored by PineCone Vision and Dentistry for Children, the event raises funds for the Sartell-St. Stephen Early Childhood Education program, and this year’s proceeds will be used to buy fitness equipment for the program.
About 200 people gathered for the back-to-school event, including 141 who participated in the three activities. There were also a dozen vendors from local health-related businesses.
The event began at 9 a.m. with cannon fire to start the timed 5k run. After that race, two races for younger children began, both 1k races (twice around the school’s field track). The first race was for children 6 and under, the second for those 7 and older. All children who completed the untimed, non-competitive 1k run and obstacle course received green achievement ribbons.
“It’s so rewarding seeing our community out and moving and enjoying a morning of family fun while supporting our schools,” said Cathy Vande Vrede, who founded the event three years ago with help from others. Vande Vrede is project-and-community outreach manager for PineCone Vision Center in Sartell.
In the 5k race, there were 41 women and 12 men who participated. The winners of the men’s category were Bret Benson, 17:45; Mitiku Nies, 21:01; and Jairad Stavos, 22:22. The top finishers among women were Jessica Lewis, 23:32; Marie Schmitz, 24:03; and Nicole Maslowski, 24:40.
Dalman was born and raised in South St. Cloud, graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School, then graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in English (emphasis on American and British literature) and mass communications (emphasis on print journalism). He studied in London, England for a year (1980-81) where he concentrated on British literature, political science, the history of Great Britain and wrote a book-length study of the British writer V.S. Naipaul. Dalman has been a reporter and weekly columnist for more than 30 years and worked for 16 of those years for the Alexandria Echo Press.