The 15th annual Dog Day race was held on Sunday featuring a 5k run for human competitors only followed by a two-mile walk for competitors with their canine companions.
Volunteers from the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s student chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association organize the race. It is a RunNC sanctionedevent that drew more than 35 runners for last year’s race.
Stephanie Zick, a veterinary student and one of three event coordinators, said the event would have gone on despite any inclement weather.
“I think that the weather will hold out for us so it will make a big difference [in the race],” Zick said. “It’s rain or shine, and I’ve done it in the rain before. It’s nice that it’s not raining right now.”
The event was very well publicized within the College of Veterinary Medicine but they also tried to attract a diverse group of participants, Zick said. She also said the group raised awareness by posting fliers on main campus, as well as working with RunNC.com to draw in more serious runners.
Two such runners are Andrea Superak and her friend Heather Mohr said they found out about the race through Active.com
“This is our first time doing it and we’re doing a series of races over the course of the spring,” Superak said. “We have been training for approximately a month now, and we run about four days a week. This is our third race.”
“This is a weird race, I will say that . We’ve never done one this small,” Mohr said. “The one we were in two weeks ago, Run for the Oaks, had close to a thousand people. Last year they [Dog Day] had thirty-five and I think a combination of the Duke game and the weather causes the turnout. We pre-registered because we wanted to do it but a lot of people do it the day of, so if the weather looks iffy or Duke is playing, they don’t come.”
Besides running the 5k, Superak and Mohr said they also participated in the two-mile walk.
They said they weren’t entirely optimistic about returning for next year.
“The dog aspect is a big draw. If this was not a dog thing I probably wouldn’t have run it in the first place,” Mohr said. “We’ll have to see how this race goes and play it by ear.”
Both Mohr and Superak said they were in high spirits after the race but that the mixed terrain of asphalt and grass, combined with the very hilly course, made for a much more difficult trek than they had anticipated.
