The Cal Poly club triathlon team celebrated Valentine’s weekend with the 11th annual Chains of Love, a run around Cal Poly’s campus, on Saturday.
The run, which was divided into a 5 kilometer (k), 10k or 15k race, has become a profitable fundraiser for the club, helping them offset the costs necessary to travel to Collegiate National Championship in April. The fun twist separating it from other team events is the option for racers to run as a couple, celebrating the theme of love by holding hands while crossing the finish line, said race director and kinesiology sophomore Karla Bensen.
“You get to run as a couple, which is different,” Bensen said.
If racers choose this option, race coordinators “emphasize that you have to run next to each other and cross the finish line holding hands,” Benson said. “It’s a little extra something that adds to the event.”
The event also offered a half-mile race for children. This aspect of Chains of Love, plus the fact that it is only a running race (as opposed to including a biking and swimming portion of a triathlon) makes the event more family-friendly than a full-fledged triathlon.
Registration director and biological sciences junior Taylor Kilbride said this appeals more to students and community members that don’t consider themselves avid triathletes.
“A lot of people run, and not a lot do triathlons, so it’s easier to advertise to the local community,” Kilbride said.
Chains of Love is one of two annual fundraisers that the triathlon team organizes. The other is the March Triathlon Series (MTS), which will be held next month at Lopez Lake. Kilbride said that the 400 to 500 racers that participate in Chains of Love do not generate as much money for the club as the 700 MTS participants, but the former is more mellow and casual.
Kilbride said that Chains of Love is a fun way for students to get to know their campus.
The race, which started on O’Neill Green in front of the business building, took participants on a tour of Cal Poly. Racers ran on Highland Drive, went down Mt. Bishop Road, past the dairy and poultry units and doubled back and continued onto Via Carta by the athletic fields. It culminated with a lap around Perimeter Drive, where participants would finish at their starting point.
Sophomore club triathlon members Lisa Grau and Ellie Gertler ran the 10k race as a couple. It was their first time participating in Chains of Love, and they were excited to run together.
“It’s a fun way to support the team,” Gertler said. “It’s cute and fun. The tri-team is one big family, we all love each other.”
Adding to the fun was the prospect of winning a number of prizes, if you finished in the top three of your race and age group. With the four races, the 11 age groupings, and male, female and couple categories, there were a lot of prizes to be won. The prizes were donated by various local businesses who sponsored the event. Prizes included gift certificates to restaurants, T-shirts or water bottles, to name a few.
Kilbride said not everyone participating was competing to win. Most, she said, were just there to have fun.
“It’s a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day and be active,” Kilbride said.