On Oct. 11, the NSU community can take part in the ninth annual Shark Shuffle 5K run to raise money for student scholarships.
With the tagline, “Raising dollars for active scholars,” NSU students who finish the race will be eligible to win $500 cash prizes. The bottom portion of participating students’ race numbers will be entered into a drawing for one of 20 cash prizes. The 5K race and walk will begin at 7:30 a.m., and an awards ceremony at 8:45 a.m. will follow.
Marcela Sandigo, associate director of programs for NSU Recreation and Wellness, said this event is meant to create a culture of wellness in the NSU community for students and is what separates it from other races that take place on campus.
She said that health and wellness events, such as the Shark Shuffle, often help people discover what wellness means to them.
“Sometimes, these races can be kind of intimidating because people think they have to run faster, but they really don’t have to run. It’s just a way to come out, support each other and support our wellness initiative as a whole.”
Aside from the race itself, the event will also feature live music, games and food.
Online registration is available until Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. The entry fee for NSU or University School students, employees, alumni or family is $12. For community members, the fee is $20 for early registration and $25 for registering the day of the event.
Registration the day of the event will be from 6 to 7:15 a.m. inside the Alvin Sherman Library. Those who pre-register can receive their race packets on Oct. 8 and 9 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the front desk of RecWell in the Don Taft University Center.
Sandigo said there are usually between 400 and 500 participants in the race, including NSU students and the local community. Although the race hasn’t seen much growth in student participation, Sandigo hopes that the number of scholarships and awareness of the event will encourage more students to attend.
“One of our challenges is to get more students to participate. We were hoping the cash prizes were incentive enough, but we haven’t seen the student participation that we would like,” she said. “It’s really a way for us to encourage students and the NSU community to come out and participate in something that can be fun and that they can get a lot out of, both fitness-related and financially.”
In the past, prizes were funded by NSU’s colleges, but this year, the money was provided by the Division of Student Affairs, which is headed by Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies Brad Williams.
Sandigo said she was a part of the original committee that started the race as part of a wellness initiative in 2006. Douglas Flemons, professor of Family Therapy, came up with the idea, and Sandigo said the wellness committee helped him solidify his plan.
For more information, visit recn.nova.edu/sharkshuffle.html or call 954-262-7301. To register online, visit rec.nova.edu/sharkshuffle.html or active.com.
