Sat Jun 4, 2011

Karhu 5k Challenged Runners in Chicago To “Beat The Karhu Bear”

CHICAGO, IL - On Saturday, June 4, 2011, the national 13.1 Marathon® Series produced by US Road Sports & Entertainment Group made its way to the Windy City for the 3rd year in a row, bringing out over 4,400 runners to Chicago’s lakefront. The half-marathon started and ended at the South Shore Cultural Center, the site of the climactic closing concert in the movie “Blues Brothers.”

The male winner was Moses Waweru, age 33, from Sun Prairie, WI with a time of 1:09:50. The male runner up was Daniel Kirwa, 24, from Searcy, AR, with a time of 1:09:54. The female winner was Meagan Nedlo, 28, from Charlotte, NC, with a finish time of 1:21:42 and the female runner up was Alexa Glencer, 23 from San Francisco, CA with a time of 1:24:45.

Both Waweru and Nedlo take home a $1,000 prize. Kirwa and Glencer will be awarded with a $500 prize.

According to Waweru, the male winner from Sun Prairie, WI, “the lakefront course was beautiful and the music kept me moving and was very inspiring. The cheering crowds kept me focused in the heat. It was a great race overall.”

“I run in all the 13.1 Marathon series and Chicago is an amazing flat course with amazing views of the lake. I especially wanted to win this race to take home the prize of $1,000 to donate to my aunt and uncle who recently lost their home in Missouri to the tornado’s,” said Nedlo, the female winner and the national field marketing manager for Craft/Karhu.

In the Karhu 5K race, 5 runners “Beat the Bear,” winning a pair of Karhu shoes for besting the time of Verdo Gregory of Chicago, IL, who raced in a full bear costume. Karhu means ‘bear’ in Finnish and this past weekend the bear came out of hibernation to challenge racers to beat him across the finish line.

Runners enjoyed a beautiful course along Chicago’s South Shore with a variety of music “party stations” along the way to keep them pumped up and motivated. An unprecedented feature of the race was the huge block party at the finish line featuring live entertainment, Chicago’s famous Lou Malnati’s pizza and Michelob ULTRA.