Photos and Story by Eric Goodwin / Contributing Writer
Dogs of all breeds and their two-legged companions competed Sunday in the 12th annual See Spot Run/Walk for Habitat 5k, sponsored by the MTSU Office of Student Organizations and Sigma Pi fraternity.
The event helps support the local Habitat for Humanity and the MTSU Habitat Blitz Build, a series of house-building projects drawing volunteers from various organizations across campus.
134 humans and 50 dogs participated in the 5k, which started and finished in front of Peck Hall. Melissa Cunningham, 36, was the first female to finish with a chip time of 20:45. Jacob Carrington, 36, finished first-place for both the male category and overall with a time of 16:42.
Human winners received medals, and the top three winning dogs received bones to chew and their very own dog tags like the ones you can find at Fetching Ware.
Katie Mitchell, 28, said she was surprised when her dog, Ed, whom she has only had for two months, pulled her through the race.
“Last week I took him out for a mile run, and he ended up behind me by the end of it. So I didn’t think he would do too well, but he pulled me the entire first two miles before I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore,'” Mitchell said.
She finished first in her age group with a time of 32:16.
Two-year Sigma Pi Vice President Kyle Kutler, who helped coordinate the event, said his favorite part about See Spot Run is seeing families have fun at the event with their dogs.
“Every year… We always have a big number of people, a lot of dogs,” Kutler said. “A few years ago we had a dog take out our cones. That was kind of funny.”
Kutler said there’s a sense of fulfillment in organizing the event.
“It has just been a good way for us to give back to the community right here in Murfreesboro,” he said.
Kutler, along with the other members of Sigma Pi, helped coordinate the event logistics and planning. Sigma Pi is just one of the many fraternities and sororities that partner with Habitat for Humanity.
Some runners, like MTSU alumnus Chewey Lam, opted to run without a dog by their side. Lam said this race was one of many he intends to complete in the coming months.
Lam said See Spot Run was his 41st race in seven months.
“I’m raising awareness for diabetes. I’m type one myself,” he said.
Lam said he is on track to run 100 races in one year, hoping to beat four national records.
“I’m trying to do it to bring public awareness to diabetes- that you can still be active (with diabetes),” he said. He then noted that you need to take different precautions depending on how serious or what type of diabetes you have. For example, some may need to look into diabetic socks for men to keep their circulation flowing while others may need to closely monitor their sugar levels.
Lam said he ran the Nashville Rock ‘N’ Roll half marathon the day before, having traveled from Denver, stopping at different races along the way. He made a spur of the moment decision to run the MTSU race.
“It was great to run back on campus,” Lam said. “It still feels like home.”
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