The latest edition of the Calvin Spring Classic 5k run/walk and Karen Muyskens Family Fun Run was held on a bright and crisp April Saturday on campus.
The annual alumni association event raises scholarship dollars and was again sponsored by alumni-owned Aspen Investment Management, Inc. along with scores of other businesses, friends and donors.
Nearly 1,300 ran, walk, hand-cycled or pushed a stroller this year, and in a new twist, runners from all over the globe could participate through a “virtual race” option—simply running a 5k wherever they were and emailing in locations, times and pictures.
Among the locations of virtual racers was “through the rice fields and banana groves around the town where we live—Kibuye, Burundi, East Africa,” wrote Heather Reedyk Fader ’99. Alumni in Lynden, Wash. promoted their own local 5k run, complete with banners and a winner’s podium.
The on-campus race featured the participation of 30 ROTC cadets from Western Michigan University and its affiliate at Calvin and a student organization called Engineering Unlimited participated in the race in teams carrying 20-25 liters of water on their backs. They seek to “raise awareness for water injustices around the world, with each person walked a mile carrying the equivalent of 55 pounds,” said leader Peter Bulten ‘16.
Numerous pictures of the race are available on the Calvin Spring Classic Facebook site and the next edition of the race is scheduled for April 22, 2017.
A very special team of runners participated in the 2016 Calvin Spring Classic—Dirk and Harriet Buursma and family, remembering their son, Paul, who passed away on Dec. 20, 2016. Paul’s life was one of constant praise despite severe health problems from birth to age 30. A regular on the Calvin campus, Paul brought joy to many and was named an honorary alumnus of Calvin by the alumni board upon his heaven-bound journey.Remembering Paul
