News Archive

June 2009

LOCAL RUNNER WINS 2009 BACK IN SHAPE 5K BY A HAIR

Two runners were neck-and-neck as they crossed the finish line in Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Back in Shape 5k race. Josh Moen, age 27, of St. Louis Park, Minn., won the race, and Sammy Malakwen, age 31, of Two Harbors, Minn., came in second. Both men recorded chip times of 14:09.

Moen was running the Back in Shape for the first time. “I thought I had a good shot at winning,” he said. “It’s a tough course, but I enjoyed the whole event.” Moen won $1,000 for winning and $500 for being the top U.S. male finisher. Malakwen received $400 for the second-place finish. The winning time was a mere 5 seconds off from the course record of 14:04 set in 2007 by Matt Chesang.

The top-finishing female was Frashiah Waithaka, age 31, of Edina, Minn., finishing in 16:51. “I am very happy!” she said with a smile at the awards presentation. She received $1,000 for being the top female finisher. Last year’s winner, Amy Lyons of Mounds View, Minn., finished second this year with a time of 17:23. Lyons won $400 for being the second-place female and an additional $500 for being the top American female finisher. “Northwestern puts on a really nice race,” she said.

The Back in Shape event logged a total of 270 5k finishers; and 60 people participated in the Patrick Holmes Memorial Walk. The event also included a kids’ 1/4-mile and 1/2-mile race, with 45 children taking part.

The Back in Shape boasts one of the largest prize purses in the state of Minnesota, with $6,500 in prizes for the top five finishers in each age category. The event also offers participants race-day perks such as a post-race buffet, free health screenings and sports massages; indoor restrooms; open swimming in the University’s pool before and after the event; and access to locker rooms and showers.

Runners and walkers could also raise pledges and make donations to Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People, an organization dedicated to providing assistance to low-income people in Bloomington, Richfield and South Minneapolis; Cornerstone, an organization working to prevent domestic abuse, and the Patrick Holmes Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was created to honor former Northwestern employee Patrick Holmes, who died in the I-35W bridge collapse in 2007.

June 2008

Hometown Heroes Win 2008 Back In Shape Run

Mathew Gabrielson, of Minneapolis, Minn., was the top finisher in Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Back in Shape Run in June 2008. Finishing in 14:23, Gabrielson won $1,500 — part of the largest prize purse in the state of Minnesota. The top-finishing female was Amy Lyons, of Mounds View, Minn., who also won $1,500. She finished in an impressive 17:19. Both Gabrielson and Lyons won $1,000 each for being the top male and female finishers and $500 each for being the top American male and female finishers.

A total of 271 people registered for the Back in Shape Run, 31 participated in the walk and 56 children took part in the kids’ 1/4-mile and 1/2-mile races. Additionally, a mascot race was held featuring Northwestern’s mascot, Vinnie the Vertebrate amongst various other local mascots.

The event featured a difficult course that attracted runners from around the country, including: Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to raise pledges for Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People, an organization dedicated to providing assistance to low-income people in Bloomington, Richfield and South Minneapolis; and the Patrick Holmes Memorial Scholarship Fund, a scholarship that supports Northwestern students interested in pursuing research as a career path. The scholarship was created to honor former Northwestern employee Patrick Holmes, who died in August 2007 in the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis.

Among the perks offered to participants were an outlandish post-race buffet, free massages, access to indoor bathrooms, free use of the University’s heated pool, and a variety of prizes, including airline tickets, theater tickets, and gift certificates. Additionally, the race offered the state’s largest prize purse for a 5K — $6,550. The purse included a $1,000 cash prize for the top male and top female finishers; a $500 cash prize for the top finishing male and female Americans; a $500 cash prize for the race’s second-place male and female runners; a $300 cash prize for the race’s third-place male and female runners; a $200 cash prize for the race’s fourth-place male and female runners; a $100 cash prize for the race’s fifth-place male and female runner; $25 Visa gift cards for the first-place male and female finishers in each of 15 age categories; and $10 Visa gift cards to the second- and third-place male and female finishers in each of 15 age categories. Additionally, all 22 first-time runners received a medal. Setting a course record was worth a $250 bonus.