If you’re like me, you cling to the outdated notion that the Northern Kentucky University campus is a pile of ugly concrete buildings surrounded by asphalt parking lots.
It that were ever true — and it probably wasn’t — it certainly is no longer the case. And to prove it, this coming weekend Northern is inviting the public to view the campus in a unique way: By running a 5K race through its grounds, with many of its newer buildings lining the route.
“The goal is to connect alumni and the overall community with NKU and the campus,” said spokesman Jay Shelton.
“With so many positive changes occurring recently at NKU, exposing alumni and others in the community to NKU’s ever-growing campus is the main goal of the race. In addition, the money raised for this event help fund programs within the College of Business.”
The second annual Norse Dash 5K takes place Sunday at 11:30 a.m., starting at the James C. and Rachel M. Votruba Student Union Building. Online registration for $25 ($15 for NKU students or those 18 and younger) is available until Saturday here. You can also register the day of the race for $30 starting at 10:30 a.m.
Shelton said the race will begin in front of the Student Union Building, built in 2008. It then winds past Griffin Hall, which was built in 2011 and houses the College of Informatics. Runners then race between two new sports arenas — the NKU Soccer Stadium, built in 2010, and the BB&T Arena, built in 2008. The finish line is in front of the Campus Rec Center, which was rebuilt and renovated in 2015.
The rec center is also where the awards ceremony and after party — always the best part of a race — will take place, Shelton said.
“We hope to have a good turnout of students, alumni, and people from across the community — welcoming all ages and abilities,” he said. “(NKU) President (Geoff) Mearns is scheduled to attend as well, defending one of the fastest race times at last year’s Norse Dash 5K.”
If a 5K — which in more familiar terms is 3.1 miles — doesn’t seem quite long enough for you, head on down to the Eastern Kentucky mountains Saturday for the Cloudsplitter 100.
Yep, the 100 stands for 100 miles, although the race along the ridges of the Pine Mountains in Pike and Letcher counties also offers distances of 100K (62 miles), 50K (31 miles), and 25K (15.5 miles).
It’s Kentucky’s only 100-mile trail race, and it begins 8 a.m. Saturday. Runners have 40 hours to complete the course, which winds along the rugged, rocky, and remote Pine Mountain Scenic Trail. Although parts of the region have been developed, strip mined, or heavily logged, Pine Mountain remains relatively untouched, and it is home to a great diversity of plant life, making for a truly beautiful — if difficult — run.
It passes through dense forest, with cliffs, waterfalls, rock shelters, rhododendron thickets, caves, upland bogs and enormous sandstone boulders. Breached by only six roads in 110 miles, this is one of the most physically demanding trails in the east, and it remains a significant wilderness area.
Due to the difficulty of the 100-mile distance, the cutoff time will be 40 hours.
Nick LaBoffe, one of the top ultrarunners in the area, is repeating the run this year. He said he made the last-minute decision to sign up for the 100-mile race after dropping out of the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, held two weeks ago because of an injury. (That’s a race in which people run for 24 hours around a track in Edgewater Park, which is along the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland. The winner, Cincinnati’s Harvey Lewis, ran 157.9 miles.)
“(I) had to drop from NorthCoast 24 due to tight hip muscles,” LaBoffe said. “(I’m) hoping to improve upon last year’s time and place.”
Jeremy Hurm of Florence is running his first 100-mile race, and he wanted it to be in Kentucky. So he’s in for the distance.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “The longest I’ve ever run is 19.5 hours, and this will far exceed that… Finishing would be great. I would be thrilled with a finish under 34 hours.”
Hurm credits Craig “Wheels” Wheeler, a Burlington ultrarunner who is among the tops in the country, with giving him advice and helping him prepare for the grueling run. Hurm has trained by running dozens of miles at a time at the trails in Mount Airy Forest in Cincinnati, and in England-Idlewild Park in Boone County. At times, his training routine took unusual steps to help him prepare for the hills.
“I work in a building that has 12 stories, which is actually 24 flights,” he said. “I like to do the stairs for an hour or so. At the peak of my training, I did those (stairs) 10 to 12 times in just under an hour.”
Paul Long writes weekly for the NKyTribune about running and runners. For his daily running stories, follow him at dailymile.com or on Twitter @Pogue57