CECI HEINEN: Hello everyone! This is Ceci Heinen with The Minnesota Daily and welcome back to In The Know, a podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota. 

As some of you may know, this past Saturday the Minnesota Daily hosted our first ever 5k race! And in the spirit of investigative journalism, I courageously ran in it to give you all an honest account of the race. Keep in mind that the last time I seriously ran was in middle school cross country, so I was quite rusty. 

However, I wanted to prove that anyone can run a 5k if you put your mind to it. For those of you who are teetering on the edge of buying your first pair of running shoes, or anxious about your first race, I am here to prove to you that, if I can do it, so can you. 

Don’t worry, you aren’t about to only listen to my grueling account of the race overrun mostly by my heavy breathing. I also talked with many other runners from all walks of life! From undergrad students, father-daughter duos, faculty, grad students and alumni, everyone showed up and showed out for the MN Daily 5k. 

When asked about her reason for running the 5k, third year environmental engineering major Maddy Slininger, said she had a special guest racing alongside her.

MADDY SLININGER: I’ve been trying to do a lot more races recently and I was able to convince my dad to do it with me.

HEINEN: There was no shortage of father-daughter duos at the race. Fourth-year finance and Spanish major Carley Pakonen and her dad Richard were also having some quality paternal bonding time. 

CARLEY PAKONEN: I saw it on an email and we both like to run, so I thought it’d be a cool experience to run on my campus with my dad. 

HEINEN: Would you guys consider yourself runners? 

RICHARD PAKONEN: Yes.

CARLEY PAKONEN: Him for sure. Me, not so much, but I like to run sometimes. 

RICHARD PAKONEN: Done a bunch of, you know, marathons. I’m actually training for Chicago, uh, Chicago Marathon, and so when I’m done running this 5k with Carly, I’m going to go out and do 17 as to finish up.

HEINEN: Today?

RICHARD PAKONEN: Today to finish up my 20 mile training run for Chicago. So this is my start for my, for one of my long runs today. It’s a fun group. It seems to be like really well organized. And everybody has got smiles on their faces. Everybody looks like they’re excited to go out and enjoy a couple miles around the U. 

HEINEN: Third-year computer science major Cameron Nagle said this race was simply a stepping stone for him in a grander running goal. 

CAMERON NAGLE: My roommates are running the Twin Cities Marathon and I decided to hop in with them. I would say for this one just to have fun and don’t hurt myself. But for the marathon, I’m hoping for sub four hours, and maybe just to beat my roommates. That would be fun as well.

HEINEN: Okay, okay, not everyone was training for marathons, normal people were running it too, don’t get discouraged. There were plenty of casual runners just there for a good time! University alum Emma Martens was actually still recovering from a wild Friday night when she ran the 5k. 

EMMA MARTENS: Today I am here and this run is going to be painful, but you know, it’s a nice day. Walk around campus. Why not? In the spirit of full transparency, several of us went on a party bus last night. 

So, the goal is to finish the race, for sure. Simone Biles was at Last Call downtown. Out of all places in the world to run into Simone Biles, would you think it would be at Last Call in downtown Minneapolis? Because we didn’t.

HEINEN: I don’t know about you, but if I had met Simone Biles the night before, I would not have shown up to run a 5k at the crack of dawn the next morning. Martens was not alone in the casual runners club. Recent university grads Priscilla and Maikao were also just there to have a fun time. 

PRISCILLA: I would say I’m a beginner runner. 

MAIKAO: I’d say I’m kind of a casual runner. I run just whenever I feel like it. I feel like it helps with getting my energy out because what I do mostly is just sit around, and so like running really helps get my energy out.

PRISCILLA: Yeah, and it helps keep me active, and I think it also helps with my general stress levels. 

HEINEN: As you now can see, there was a wide variety of participants. I would put myself more towards the casual runner end rather than the “going to run 17 more miles after this” like Pakonen. But now, let’s get into the race. 

I need to preface this with a personal statement. I am not as unathletic as I sound in these next few clips. I am just not a runner! But seriously, I am about to be very vulnerable with you all so I hope you get at least a few laughs out of my suffering. So now let’s tune into 5k Ceci. 

5K HEINEN: I will be taking you along with me as I run this 5K today. I don’t run often. But, we’re doing this. I’m with some of my friends here. Amazing. We’re running it together. So you guys will be coming along with me as I run this race. 

After the first couple steps. Feeling great. About to run over the bridge. Woo! 

I don’t know how long we’ve been running, but we’re going back across the Washington Bridge. We went, ugh, around the Wilson Library and the Rarig Center. And we have to do this again. I’m not, I’m not feeling good. I’m tired. I’m out of breath. My butt hurts. We’re still going. Woo! 

HEINEN: That was me not even a mile in. But I was still running! As you can hear my friend was basically the only thing keeping me going. 

5K HEINEN: We’re about to make one full lap, which I think is like 1.5 miles. So, yeah, feeling great. I have a stitch in my side, and my legs are chafing, but we’re doing good. I can’t believe we have to run this again. I’m so tired already.

HEINEN: At this point in the race I was feeling a bit more confident, my stitch had gone away and we were approaching our final stretch. So I decided now would be a good time to try and catch up with my boyfriend, who was a good quarter mile in front of me. 

5K HEINEN: Okay, I’m going to try to catch my boyfriend who’s up in front of us. So I’m putting it in gear. I’m running. This sucks. I’m going, I’m going. Oh my god, guys, this is not fun.

 Okay, I immediately give up. He’s too far ahead. I’m back to my, my jog. I can’t speak. 

HEINEN: Yeah, I didn’t catch up to him.

5K HEINEN: We’re almost there. We’re running across the Washington Bridge for the last time. In the sunlight, which is the worst part. But, I believe in us.

We’re in the final stretch. It’s the last leg. I think I’m gonna sprint. Or try to at least. Oh my god. That was not cool. 

 I just finished. I felt like I was gonna throw up at the end, but I didn’t, guys. I finished. That was so awful. I’m so tired, but I did it. I finished. Oh my god, I need water. Oh my god. 

HEINEN: I was in a state of complete panic at the end because I genuinely felt like I was going to hurl. But 10 minutes later I was, to say the least, still standing. 

5K HEINEN: This is me, like 10 minutes post race, feeling okay. I had a moment there after I finished where I thought I was gonna throw up. That was scary. I sprinted at the end and that was not smart because I ran over the finish line and I felt like I was going to vom. 

But, I’m feeling better now. My legs, I can tell are going to be really sore in a little bit, but got some complimentary protein shake, about to go get some coffee and a waffle. Thanks for tuning in with us. Thanks for keeping up with me. I know that must have been hard for you to listen to because I was breathing so hard.

One thing, I didn’t walk. I didn’t walk at all. I ran the whole time. So, I hit my goal of not walking. That was my only goal, so yeah, we did that. We did that.

HEINEN: Well, there you have it. I did it. I finished a 5K in 25 minutes, which I am honestly super proud of. But, enough of me, let’s check in with some other runners. Fourth-year Abby Schuldt smashed her goals in her first 5k. 

ABBY SHULDT: Um, it went really well. The first lap was super easy, and then the second one I really started making some moves, really. I, this is my first 5k that I’ve, like, ran, you know, as like an event, so I really wanted to push myself, and I actually PR’d today, so.

HEINEN: Many runners exceeded their goals for the race, including university alumni KD DeAcetis and her brother and current fourth-year computer science student Ben DeAcetis, who beat their goal time and got a quality sibling bonding experience.

KD DEACETIS: We did, I believe. I think we.

BEN DEACETIS: 26. 

KD DEACETIS: Yeah, 26 pace. 

BEN DEACETIS: 27.

KD DEACETIS: Yeah, I think we hit 27. Even though we live so close, with school and work, we don’t get to see each other that much. So it’s nice to make time, plan ahead for it.

HEINEN: Sibling duos, fathers and daughters, to say the least, there was tons of family love in the air. Talking to everyone made me wish I had invited my parents to the race. However, I am glad I did not, seeing as they are both multi-time marathon finishers so they would have smoked me.

I asked the runners all the same important question, “Why do you run?” Clearly there has to be a reason for putting our bodies through this, right? Take a listen to what students Schuldt, Bennett Quashie and Teni Adekule Awomuti had to say.

SCHULDT: It is a really good stress reliever. Like, I feel like I can just channel all the stressful shit going on in my life into like one thing. And I was like, if I can do this, if this is like the hardest thing, like, that I have to do today, like I can put everything into that.

BENNETT QUASHIE: Good cardio health, you know, goes a long way. I feel good when I’m active. That’s, that’s the main thing. 

TENI ADEKULE AWOMUTI: I would say the thrill of it. Me being like. Yeah, I feel like a neurodynamic resistance towards my body. And also like, I think it’s a good way of, like, cutting down weight and losing extra fat loss. 

HEINEN: They are making running sound really appealing in my opinion. And I would say the same. It felt amazing to know that I had just run a 5k. I felt very accomplished once my post race exhaustion wore off. Here are some final opinions from grad student Hannah Westerberg, KD DeAcetis and the Pakonen’s.

HANNAH WESTERBERG: Oh, that’s a great question. I love, I think it’s really cool that we have the ability to push ourselves to, like, our maximum because it’s something that you can’t really do every day and so, I don’t know, you can kind of do it however you want to do it and it’s, it’s very freeing.

KD DEACETIS: I think it’s a fun community event. It’s nice to have a sense of accomplishment. If you sign up, you actually follow through, do it. And, especially at an event like this, with a campus community, you see people you know, so it’s fun to get out and about.

RICHARD PAKONEN: Oh, it’s great exercise. Clears my brain. 

CARLEY PAKONEN: You feel really good afterwards.

RICHARD PAKONEN: It’s great meditation. Like, gotta have a crazy day, this is a great way to clear it out.

CARLEY PAKONEN: You can relate to other people, cause a lot of people run.

HEINEN: As a student, I feel like all of us need an outlet for letting out the pent up stress and anxiety as we navigate college. Running seems to be one of the most highly rated, and easiest ways to do just that. According to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, running, even just for 5-10 minutes at a slow speed every day reduces risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease. 

Running provides countless mental health benefits. Harvard Medical School broke down the neurochemical effect running has on your body. Aerobic exercise reduces stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. And it also stimulates production of endorphins, your happy brain chemical. 

I hope this episode has inspired you to get out there and try something new. If I can run a 5k so can you! See you all next year at the MN Daily 5k.

This episode was written by Ceci Heinen and produced by Kaylie Sirovy. As always, we appreciate you tuning in and feel free to send a message to our email inbox at podcasting@mndaily.com with any questions, comments or concerns. I’m Ceci and this has been In The Know.