UCF, Orlando community race in U Can Finish 5 Miler and 2 Mile

With sweat dripping down his face, 26 minutes and 15 seconds after taking off, Orlando resident Steve Curley was crossing the finish line at the U Can Finish 5 Miler and 2 Mile.

Early Sunday, while the air was still crisp with the weekend's cold front, hundreds of people bustled around outside of the UCF Arena waiting for the race to start.

As runners crossed the finish line, they gathered outside of the Arena where they could enjoy bananas, oranges and beverages. Shortly after the 5 miler, an award ceremony was held, recognizing the top runners. During this time, other runners were gathering on Memory Mall, ready for the start of the 2 mile.

For the 5 miler, Curley took first place for men at 26:15, with Katy Radkewich winning first place for women at 29:55. Student winners of the 5 miler were Nic Tautiva at 27:27 and Anethyst Strickland at 31:20.

First place winner of the 2 mile was Josh Karadeema at 10:50.

Each top runner was recognized and awarded a souvenir plaque. Vendors were tabling outside of the Arena offering massages by licensed therapists, giving out drinks and displaying their products.

Florida Hospital Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Track Shack, Accelerade Sports Drink and Hunter Vision were among them.

The U Can Finish 5 Miler and 2 Mile was presented by the Florida Hospital, benefitting the Track Shack Foundation and 4EVER KNIGHTS Student Alumni Association.

With 23 on-campus organizations signed up, UCF Army ROTC was hard to miss, sporting their matching black shirts, shorts and reflective belts. They won the student challenge and received $250 for being the largest participating organization with more than 80 runners.

The U Can Finish 5 Miler and 2 Mile was open to UCF students, alumni and the Orlando community. More than 2,000 people gathered for the event in total.

UCF senior Shelby Deloach has been training for the 5 miler by running 40 miles a week. Finishing in just over 37 minutes, Deloach was pleased with her time.

"On the fourth mile, I slowed down and then picked it back up, but it threw me off a little bit," she said.

Sasha Tittel, a junior biology major, chose to run the 5 miler solo, just for fun.

"I've never done a 5 mile, I've always done 5Ks," Tittel said. "It's my first race through UCF."

Members of Knight Runners, an on-campus running team, were huddled around laughing and joking as they waited for their team members to finish the race, one by one. One of their members, John Bateman, finished in the top 10.

Bateman, a sophomore industrial engineering major has been running with Knight Runners since last year. Bateman finished in ninth place with a time of 28:48.

"It's a personal record for me. I wanted to break 29:20 and I destroyed that," he said.

In preparation for the race, Bateman started on a friend's training program, where he steadily increased his mileage throughout the week.

"It's definitely helped with the endurance part," Bateman said.

Six weeks later, his body was adjusting to the mileage and the program seemed to be effective.

"Mile three or four I would always die, but this time it was the exact opposite, I actually started going a lot faster."