Summers, Hardy take top spots at 2009 Campus Dash CORNER BROOK CHRIS QUGLEY The Western Star

About 84 people took part in Wednesday’s I Fell for Grenfell Campus Dash at the college. This year’s event was run in the Partici-Park. — Star photo by Geraldine Brophy

A diverse group of people made up the 84 participants in the I Fell for Grenfell 2009 Campus Dash on Wednesday in the Corner Brook Stream Trail’s Partici-Park.

Even the top two finishers were an eclectic pairing — a runner and a non-runner.

17-year-old Gordie Summers of Corner Brook Regional High School posted a time of 8:05.05 to finish in first place among men.

Local resident Steve Howlett was second at 8:18.64, while Grenfell student Robinson McFatridge placed third with a time of 8:45.21.

First-year Grenfell student Melissa Hardy of Deer Lake placed first among female racers, clocking in at a time of 9:04.07.

Following her were fellow student Kerry Sullivan, at 10:54.07, and Grenfell’s acting principal Holly Pike, who crossed the line at 12:30.07.

St. Peter’s Academy were named top school at the event.

Participants were given the option of walking a 1-kilometre lap for recreation, or competing in the 2-km, two-lap race, which Summers and Hardy won.

“I run a lot, so it wasn’t that difficult to do,” Summers said of the 2-km route. “I’ve been running for about three years now. I usually run about five kilometres.”

Hardy was a little more surprised at her personal performance.

“I just wanted to see who was there and who was interested,” she said. “I just wanted to have a look really.

“I’m not much of a runner,” she added. “I prefer to just go to the gym, actually. I spend a lot of time on the treadmill and the elliptical and I go on for 45 minutes no trouble, but I don’t ever measure my actual distance.

“I don’t do a lot of outside running ... maybe in the summertime, but I don’t like the cold.”

That’s something both the runner and non-runner could agree on — running in cold weather isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

“The cold makes it kind’ve harder,” said Summers. “But it wasn’t that bad.”

Hardy barely hesitated when asked what the biggest challenge of the race was.

“The weather,” she said. “The weather was too cold for me.”

In another similarity, neither Summers or Hardy expected to actually win the race, although Hardy liked her odds a little more when she registered.

“At first when I was the only girl signed up I thought I had a good chance,” she said. “After there was a few more, no, I didn’t know.”

Unlike the race rookie Hardy, Summers participated in last year’s event, placing third among male runners, but didn’t think that meant much heading in.

“I didn’t know what to expect really,” he said.