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Sayers on the Sidelines
Tim Sayers
GINA RELAYS THIS
WEEKEND
Hillsdale College will be full of excitement
this weekend, as the track teams are hosting the GINA Relays
today through Saturday.
For those of you who aren't familiar with
the GINA Relays, it is one of the largest track meets in the
nation, named after one of Hillsdale's most decorated runners,
Gina Van Laar.
Van Laar was a distance runner at Hillsdale
during the mid-1980s.
Her accomplishments include being a three-time
All-American in cross country (1985-1987), a three-time All-American
in indoor and outdoor track (1985, 1987-1988) and the National
NAIA Cross Country Champion in 1986. Tragically, Gina died in
a car crash shortly after graduating from Hillsdale, and this
meet commemorates her legacy.
The GINAs aren't just any track meet, however.
Every year, athletes from all over the nation
come to Hillsdale College to compete.
Aside from GLIAC teams, the list of participants
includes elite athletes such as Gavin Thompson of Eastern Michigan,
who finished third overall at the Division I Cross Country National
Meet. There will be club runners from organizations such as
the Hansons Project, as well as Olympic hopefuls. The field
is so enormous that on Monday, coach Bill Lundberg's list of
competitors held over 2,000 athletes, and he was still receiving
entries yesterday.
If you want to understand the magnitude of
GINA, one simply has to look at the entry list for the 5,000-meter
race. The list, as of Tuesday, totaled over 120 entries. It
will probably continue to grow, Lundberg said, to around 140-160
competitors by the time all the entries are in. This race will
definitely be one of the highlights of the meet simply because
several members of illustrious running clubs, along with other
elite distance runners, will be attempting to qualify for the
Olympic trials in June.
What is it about Hillsdale that appeals to
so many runners? Many people have told me that Hillsdale's mondo
track is the key. This very hard surface makes it easy for runners
to get fast times, which is exactly what every competitor wants.
If you still don't think GINA is a big deal,
guess again. This is an event of nationwide magnitude. I recently
checked the message board on the running Web site, www.letsrun.com,
and I was shocked to discover several message threads concerning
the GINA meet and who was going to be competing.
I knew that the meet was a big deal, but I simply figured that
it was for locals only, not something that people all over America
paid attention to and anticipated.
Because of the magnitude of the meet, I, along
with the rest of the competitors, would greatly appreciate any
and all support from the Hillsdale students.
See you there.
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