Early registration for 35th annual Bellin Run ends Sunday

May 11, 2011

The cost of registering for the 2011 Bellin Run will rise by $5 after Sunday, May 15, the last day of early registration.

Registrants still hoping to take advantage of the low early registration fee are encouraged to sign up before midnight on Sunday. The cost to register online for the annual run/walk event will increase from $18 to $23 on Monday.

The Bellin Run also offers a pen and paper option for registrants. Mail-in registration will increase from $21 to $26 on Monday.

But even at $23 or $26, registration for the Bellin Run is a bargain when compared to similar 10K races nationwide, executive race director Randy Van Straten said.

Comparable 10K races such as Georgia’s Peachtree Road Race and Colorado’s BolderBOULDER cost participants $33 and $44, respectively. California’s Buffalo Alley Run and Virginia’s Ukrop’s Monument Ave. 10K charge $40 and $35 per registrant, respectively.

“The goal of the Bellin Run is not to raise money, it’s to put feet on the street,” Van Straten said. “We’re much more concerned with getting people on the path to overall positive health, wellness and fitness through their training and eventual participation in the Bellin Run.”

According to Van Straten, the event has benefitted from the commitment and support of many long-term sponsors. Bellin Health also subsidizes the event as part of the health system’s overall goal of improving the health of the population, and Bellin employees make up the majority of the volunteer base.

The Bellin Run – scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, June 11 – is one of the largest mass participatory events in Northeast Wisconsin with more than 90 percent of its participants coming from the area, Van Straten said.

The 2010 Bellin Run drew a record 18,398 registrants. It was the sixth consecutive year since 2004 that the race experienced record registration numbers. The increased participation the event has drawn is somewhat indicative of the area’s growing emphasis on health and fitness, Bellin Health fitness experts say.

“There are studies highlighting the health benefits of walking and running,” said Nate Vandervest, a running specialist at Bellin Health’s Green Bay Health & Athletic Performance Center. “And as more people across Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula search for ways to improve their overall health and fitness, walking, running and general exercise are great ways to reduce the possibility of serious illness and disease.”