The organizers of this past weekend's Frozen 5K wanted to make a public thank you to all the participants:

I would like to thank all of the runners that participated in the 2nd Annual "Run With the Bulls" Frozen 5K. Proceeds from the event will be used to support Delta Company 134 BSB’s family readiness group. More important than the proceeds was the opportunity to build relationships with members of our community. We look forward to next year's run and appreciate all of the community’s support to our Soldiers and their families.

Sincerely,

1LT Sam Sherwood

Commander, Delta Company, 134 Brigade Support Battalion Minnesota Army National Guard

The Frozen 5k took place Saturday at the Duluth Armory on Airpark Boulevard.  Around fifty runners completed the 5k course.  In its second year, the Army National Guard started the Frozen 5k as a way to become more involved in the community, according to race director Staff Sergeant Dawn Soderlund.

Scott Behling win the race, holding off Tom O'Rourke of the Northwoods Minnesota running team.  Scott is training for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in June and used the race as a way to get some speed work in.  Scott plans to compete in a few track meets this Spring and run a half marathon in the Cities as part of his training for the Bjorklund.  Adding an unique twist to his racing, Scott also plans on competing in the William A. Irvin 5k the night before the Bjorklund.

Jason Bond was the third-place male, finishing around 17:30. Although Jason lives in Mountain Iron, he often comes to Duluth for races, and you may recognize him as the winner of the Northwood Showshoe Championship 10k in January.  This is Jason's first winter competing in snowshoe races.  Considering that he qualified for the US National Showshoe Championship in his first race in Rib Lake, Wisconsin, it is safe to say that Jason is catching on to snowshoeing fairly quickly.  After competing in the national championships in Mount Hood, Oregon, on March 8th, Jason is looking forward to running the Country Music Marathon in Nashville in April.

Serena Sladek won the women's division with a time in the low 20s.  A light dusting of snow made for slippery racing conditions, and Serena was happy with her decision to forgo spikes.  Serena has gotten back into running after taking a break for ten years or so.  The main race she is training for this year is the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon.  She would also like to run a 5:30 pace for a 5k someday.

Molly Pennings was the second women, finishing around 20:59.  Besides the course being a little slippery, Molly found that potholes hidden under the snow made for some additional excitement.  Molly is a lifelong runner, competing in the sport since junior high school.  She has been training on the treadmill all winter, and like many others, is hoping to get into the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon.  Molly plans on using the Bjorklund as a starting point for her training for the Whistlestop Marathon in October.

Margaret Helm completed the course in about 22 minutes.  She did not have a specific goal in mind and used the race to add variety to her training.  Margaret is doing a lot of cross-training this winter, including using the elliptical machine and lifting weights.  This year Margaret plans on competing in many 5ks and 10ks throughout the summer.  She set her 5k PR of 20:00 at the Great Northern Classic last August, and this year she would like to break twenty minutes.  Margaret and her husband enjoy going to events with kids' races so their children can compete too.

Posted by Kristopher Glesener, photography by MS Kapoor.  Many more pictures are available at Kapoor's Picasa Site.

Come one, come all to a Northland Runner sponsored movie night!

Thursday, February 19th at Lake Superior College (2101 Trinity Road in Duluth) we'll be watching Prefontaine. It'll be in the south building (the new addition) on the second floor, room S2964.

The room will be open at 7pm and we'll start the movie before 7:30. It's a snack potluck so feel free to bring a snack or beverage to share - no alcohol allowed.

Sorry for the short-ish notice. We do hope to do another movie night in March if there's enough interest. If you have questions, let us know! Hope to see you there.