McKinley Mile ends early due to weather

Sleet and near-freezing temperatures caused organizers of the McKinley Mile to cut the annual event short this year. Still, more than 50 runners came out to show their support.

“It was worth it for first place,” said Adam Shrock, a senior actuarial science major. “This may have not been the worst conditions for a 5K I’ve ever run, but it’s down there for sure.”

Schrock finished first in the 5K with a time of 17:50, a result that he has been working for.

“I’ve trained a little bit because I’m going to run in the Indianapolis half-marathon,” he said.

Schrock was one of 52 runners participating Saturday. Originally, 67 had registered, but 15 of them did not show up.

“We still had a pretty great turn out for the 5K even though it was like this,” said Austin Craft, a junior telecommunications major and chairman of the McKinley Mile. “They came out here in the snow and sleet, so we really appreciate those that came out and helped support Second Harvest.”

The total food and money raised from Saturday’s event has not yet been tallied.

The bike race, Lambda Dash and the 17-mile Cross and Crescent Relay will take place on a later date.

“Ending an event early is never something you want to do,” Craft said. “But today we kinda had to go ahead and end it for the safety of the bike riders.”

Craft said the tentative date for the other events will be decided after getting input from the bicycle teams. Since the registration fees are nonrefundable, it is up to the teams to determine a suitable date. April 12 was the original rain date.

“But we don’t know whether or not that’s going to go through or not,” Craft said. “We have to contact the teams and see if that’s going to work for them.”

Participants of the 5K race at the McKinley Mile event run despite the weather. Events for the rest of the day were canceled because of weather. DN PHOTO TAYLOR IRBY