NMU students and the local community will be sweating out their spring fevers this weekend by participating for the first time in a National Recreational Sports and Fitness Weekend and taking part in three Northern-related athletic events.
One of the upcoming events is the Chilly Willy Indoor Triathlon this Saturday, Feb. 21, an idea which originated with Fitness and Informal Recreation Manager Katie Theut, who has been working with the rest of the recreation staff on preparation for this weekend.
“An indoor triathlon hasn’t been done at Northern before,” Theut said. “I actually got the idea from another university I used to work at where it was a huge success, and I would really like to get it started here.”
The triathlon consists of half hour segments of swimming, running and biking. There will be no finish line to cross at the end of each segment though, instead participants will compete for the longest possible distance traveled in each time frame. The event is entirely inside the PEIF, using the pool, treadmills and stationary bikes for each leg of the competition.
Participants can work in teams or as individuals. The event will run from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. in 12 staggered heats consisting of eight participants. Winners will be determined by overall longest distance per segment in categories of age and gender.
The second event will be the First Annual Great North Strength Competition, held this Sunday between 1 p.m. – 8 p.m., and will be divided into male and female weight classes. Participants will compete at various feats of strength such as squat lifting and bench presses. Associate Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Sports Programming Brian Gaudreau said this event was chosen because of the popularity of lifting competitions at other schools.
“My staff and I sat down to see what was going on at other universities, and this seemed like a natural,” Gaudreau said. “We have lots of people here who lift, too.”
While the Great Moose Chase Snowshoe Race may be the third competition scheduled for the new NMU National Recreational Sports and Fitness Weekend, the event itself is not new to the area.
In fact, this race started in the late ’80s or early ’90s.
“Obviously the snowshoe race was a natural selection because of all the snow we’ve had this year,” Gaudreau said. “The snowshoe race is actually a historic event that was done here years ago, and we decided to resurrect it.”
The snowshoe race will run through most of Sunday at Presque Isle, consisting of both a 2K race and relay events on snowshoe. Transportation will be provided to Presque Isle from the PEIF starting at 9 a.m.
The competitions will coincide with the U.P. 200 weekend races, which Gaudreau said was an intentional decision by the recreation staff.
“We’re looking to do as many activities as we can for students, faculty, staff and of course we want the community involved too. So this was a perfect opportunity,” Gaudreau said. “I think it is fun and it fits into the National Fitness and Recreation Sports Weekend. The winter has been really long, so this gets people active and gives them something to do.”
Participants do not need previous experience or training to participate in any of the events. The recreation department will give out T-shirts for those who take part in the weekend activities, and winners of each competition will be notified by e-mail and receive medals for their achievements.
