It's never too early to start planning for Alumni Weekend on the UC San Diego campus. One highlight is the 20th annual Triton 5K race, scheduled for 9am on Sunday, April 10. The starting line is at North Point Lane in front of the Spanos Athletic Training Facility. CSE students, staff, alumni and faculty are aiming to overtake the 149 runners and walkers who won last year's prize for fielding the "Largest Overall Team" at the event. The CSE team routinely places among the largest to run or walk the 3.1-mile scenic course through the heart of the UC San Diego campus.
Runners can sign up as individuals or in teams of five or more. According to Cheryl Hile, who is again organizing CSE's official team entry in the Triton 5K, so far 77 people have registered to be members of "Team Race Condition", the CSE team moniker, and the informal goal is to push participation to 150 or more members in order to beat the team's record last year. "The team in second place last year trailed far behind our team with some 30 members compared to CSE's team with 149 members," says CSE fund manager Hile (pictured with team prize cup in 2015). "We crushed the competition last year and we're going to crush it again this year!" The CSE team could also be competitive in two other prize categories: "Largest UC San Diego Department", and "Top Fundraising Team", because all runners' fees will go to support student scholarships.
Anyone interested in being part of the CSE team should register at http://5k.ucsd.edu and select "Race Condition" in the team field. To receive the team shirt, you must first register, then fill in the Google Doc at http://bit.ly/1SErV6e with your name, email address, and shirt size (sizing guidance for men and women is on the second tab of the Google Doc). (Note: Staff, faculty, alumni and parents are recommended to register before 11:59pm on February 28 in order to take advantage of the Early Bird rate -- $25 per person -- versus $30 for those registering by April 3, and $35 for those registering on-site on the day of the race. Students get in for $10 no matter when they register.) Only those who have registered by noon on March 15 are eligible to receive a CSE team shirt. The high-quality New Balance "tech" shirt will be separate from the overall campus Triton 5K shirt, and it will look different from last year's team shirt. According to Cheryl Hile, the "2016 shirt will be a different color because I know people are starting a collection!"
In addition to the team shirt, Race Condition participants in the race (sanctioned by USA Track and Field) will receive a gear bag. A strong turnout could also put CSE in contention for the "largest fundraiser" prize, since the runners' fees will benefit student scholarships. Since 1996, the race has raised more than $3.4 million that benefited over 1,000 students. The Triton 5K Festival also starts at 9am on April 10 at the Triton Track and Field Stadium. Activities will include entertainment, a Junior Triton Run, a play zone, and hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Mathematics (STEAM) activities for children of all ages.
Next week we'll have more on CSE participation in 2016 Alumni Weekend activities.