Central track and field team putting on 5K fundraiser
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
The May 8 Elkader’s City Parks 5K walk/run will benefit Central’s boys and girls track and field teams while also promoting the school program and investing in the sport.
The event began in 2019, when the track and field coaches, led by Martha Bauder, who serves as the girls track and field and cross country coach, started it as a fundraiser for supplies. Since then, the teams have been able to purchase items such as starting blocks, a free lap timing system and uniforms/wind suits. It’s also provided assistance in paying for junior high state meet entry fees.
The importance of fundraising, however, goes beyond simply investing in school sports. It also serves as a valuable life lesson for the student athletes.
“I would say part of the importance is making the athletes understand that there are costs to their opportunities to be involved in athletics and that they should want to help in any way they can for our school to be able to offer the opportunities. The funding is necessary so the athletes can benefit from items that are needed on a regular basis and items that would be considered wants,” Bauder said.
While fundraising events can come in many forms, such as sorting cans that are deposited in the bin in the parking lot by the bus/suburban garage, which is another thing the track and field team does, the 5K was chosen because it promotes physical activity. That makes sense given that it’s put on by Central’s athletic department.
“We wanted to do something that promotes being physically active, we wanted to promote a family activity by having it be free for ages 10 and under, we wanted to promote the town of Elkader by doing something that will bring people to town and we didn’t want to have to sell anything,” Bauder said.
While Bauder is the one in charge, having created the route and planned and delegated the assignments for the other coaches and athletes, the students each need to volunteer for a duty involved with the 5K. That includes approaching businesses to sponsor the event, posting flyers around the area, designing the race T-shirt, providing help with pre-registrations, donating post-race food items or simply helping the day of the race.
“There’s a lot of preparation involved, but the day of the event usually runs pretty smoothly and quickly. The coaching staff here at Central does most of the prep work and has several athletes involved. We also had Molly Scherf, who knows a lot about 5K preparation, help us a great deal,” Bauder said.
One new and fun element to this year’s event is the special recognition that will go to mothers and retirees. As part of this recognition, the retirees will get to run the race for free and the winning mother gets to choose a prize.
When asked why those two groups were chosen, Bauder said, “We included mothers because the date is always around Mother’s Day and we thought, by making it a fun family event, we would potentially draw in more participants. And since it’s a school function, we thought recognizing retirees would be a nice gesture and also potentially draw more family members to participate.”
Registration forms for the event can be picked up at the Central school office or found on the Central website. Race day registration will take place from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 8, at Elkader City Park-Founders Park. The 5 and under quarter-mile race will start at 8:20 a.m. and the 5K at 8:30 a.m.
