Over 700 Runners Participate in Coach Callahan Fun Run/Walk

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln ? More than 700 runners laced up their shoes Saturday morning to participate in the third annual Coach Callahan Charities Fun Run/Walk, presented by Houchen Bindery, to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the UNL Libraries Electronics Resources Fund. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The event which was also sponsored by adidas, Ideal Images, the Lincoln Track Club, Huskers Authentic, Espresso to You, and the Lincoln Running Company, raised approximately $10,000 for charity this year, adding to the 2005 amount for a cumulative total of more than $30,000.

 

The Coach Callahan Fun Run is also well supported by companies who sponsor a large amount of runners for the race, such as Lincoln Plating, which supported over 30 employees for Saturday’s event. Numerous members from the Nebraska athletic department also assisted in preparation for the event as well as participating in the 1-mile run/walk and the 5K.

 

Dottie Hof, age 92, finished the 1-mile event in top form to a rousing applause and warm hugs from the freshman football squad who welcomed her and others in the 1-mile forming an official finish-line tunnel. Hof additionally recruited over 30 runners for the event.

 

Coach Callahan’s son Danny was among the many in attendance, as he suffers from Type 1 diabetes. It is the mission of the JDRF to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Danny Callahan led a group of six Lacrosse Club members who all competed in the race.

 

The Nebraska men and women’s cross country team also volunteered their time on the course, standing at over a dozen mile markers throughout the 5K race to direct the hundreds of runners who made the loop around Haymarket Park and back to Stadium Drive, where the race also began.

 

Coach Callahan Charities, Inc. is a non-profit organization that Coach Callahan established to provide financial support to non-profit organizations organized to fight breast cancer and diabetes, and to provide services, support and hope to economically disadvantaged and at-risk youth and families.

 

In the 5K race, Madison, Wis.-native Pete Jaeger recorded the top finish for the second year in a row, as he was the title-winner in last year’s race. Jaeger completed the run in 17:23. Earning second was Jake Messersmith of Lawrence, Kan., with a time of 19:20, while Brian Christensen of Lincoln, Neb. took the third spot with a time of 19:31.

 

Kelly Yacevich of Lincoln, Neb., a former University of Nebraska-Wesleyan cross country member, was the top female finisher and fourth overall with a time of 19:32.

 

Turning in the top youth times were siblings Erin and Keevan Statz. It was a family event for the duo as their father, Steve, also competed in the race. 14-year-old Erin, a Lincoln Pius High School cross country team hopeful, finished with a time of, while 23:23, while 11-year-old finished Keevan, a sixth grader at St. Joseph’s, in a time of 28:10.

 

In the 1K run/walk, the top male and overall winner was 17-year old Alex Waybright of LincolnEastHigh School with a time of 6:03.

 

The top female winner and second place overall was Omaha, Neb. native Angee Henry, a former UNL track and field runner from 1994-97, who ran in a time of 6:04.

 

The top youth male was 11-year-old Travis Donlan of Gretna, Neb. with a time of 6:11. The top youth female was 13-year-old Molly Kinnett of Ulysses, Neb. Kinnett finished in a time of 7:04.

 

All runners were invited to participate in the annual Fan/Photo Day which took place in the Stadium at 10 a.m.