You are finally going to do the Bellin Run
March 22, 2011
Run or walk 6.2 miles? Some people will groan, roll their eyes or perform some other dramatic gesture at the mere mention of it. But 6,961 first-timers in 2010 did not.
The Bellin Run 10K is an annual community event. It’s not a race that should intimidate anyone, even though last year it drew its largest registration ever with more than 18,000 registrants. The Bellin Run is still very much considered a neighborhood race. After all, more than 90 percent of its participants come from the greater Green Bay area. So participating in the Bellin Run is like running with a few thousand friends or neighbors. There’s no fear in that, right?
This year the Bellin Run – scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, June 11 – will institute a corral system. It will be used to “line up” participants by their anticipated pace. At the starting gun, the continuous line of participants on the surrounding streets will move forward until all runners and walkers have crossed the start line. This format encourages a smoother, safer and more efficient start, with the opportunity for peak performance. It’s a system that veteran participants should welcome and new runners and walkers will appreciate as it cuts out any unnecessary waits and gets participants out of the jitters and onto the course fairly quickly.
Still not convinced about doing the Bellin Run? Maybe you’re concerned about the amount of training it takes to be able to finish running or walking 6.2 miles. That’s not quite a valid excuse, especially seeing as Bellin Run planners offer a number of free training sessions, including the popular Run a Better Bellin class. Runners and walkers of all experience levels gather every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Bellin Health’s Green Bay Health & Athletic Performance Center, 1630 Commanche Ave., to train for the run/walk. Participants can attend as many or as few classes as they like.
Schools and area companies are in on training for the event, too. The Kids for Running program brought in 3,009 student participants from 59 schools last year. The Corporate Challenge program, consisting of employees from area companies, brought in 6,400 participants from 198 companies. More than 2,000 of those participants were first-timers.
If after all that you’re still on the fence about doing the Bellin Run, know this: On average, about 40 percent of Bellin Run participants are first-timers. So you definitely won’t be the only newbie on the block.
Give one of our running specialists a call at (920) 430-4722 and let them know you’re finally going to do the Bellin Run. Take that first step and in no time you’ll be crossing the Bellin Run finish line.
