Springfield, Ohio — The fourth annual running of Wittenberg’s University’s Tiger Tri, which raises thousands of dollars for scholarships each year, will take place at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, starting at the HPER Center, 250 Bill Edwards Drive.
The Tiger Tri is a mini-triathlon that starts with a 400-yard swim in Wittenberg’s Natatorium, transitions to a 15-mile bike course from campus to nearby Buck Creek State Park and back, and ends with a 3.6-mile run around campus and the adjacent neighborhood. The cost is $40 per person to participate, $25 for students and military members, or $68 for a relay team of two or three individuals, with each person completing a different portion of the race.
Jade Gianakopoulos, class of 1995, originally participated in the Wittenberg University Triathlon for Alumni, but she felt there needed to be a better way to connect the Wittenberg and the Springfield community. She then came up with the idea to start the Tiger Tri, which debuted in 2011 and is open to the public.
Tiger Tri has included approximately 150 participants each year, and the event has raised more than $20,000 to benefit Wittenberg students since its inception. The event is open to everyone, regardless of athletic ability, with more than half of the runners each year being first-time participants in such an event.
Orthopedic Surgeon Tim Kremcheck, class of 1981, generously sponsored the race for the first two years and was able to kickstart this new tradition. Sponsors in 2014 include Payton Plumbing, Kapp Construction, Barnes & Noble Wittenberg Bookstore, Black Pug Bike Repair, Brower Insurance Agency, Carrie A. Kneisley, LMT, LLC, Good Times Event Services, Greater Springfield Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Holmes Printing and Marketing Solutions, Jim Foreman Buick - GMC - Cadillac, Key and Lock Storage, Littleton & Rue Funeral Home and Crematory, Pete Dawson, LMT @ Kettering Medical Massage, Rick and Lori Nedelman, Shelby Clouser, LMT @ Human Healing Massage Clinic, Speedway, Springfield Cardiology, StreamRev - Medical Revenue Streamlining, and The MacRay Company.
The event website, www.wittenberg.edu/tigertri, includes all necessary information, including details about how to register. Packet pack-up will take place at the front desk of the HPER Center Legends Lobby from 4-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, and 8:30-10 a.m. the morning of the race. All those who pre-register will receive a gift bag, and the top three male and female finishers in the race will earn cash prizes. For more information, contact Gianakopoulos via email at tigertri@wittenberg.edu.
The scholarships raised through the Tiger Tri are administered by the Wittenberg Guild, a women's organization that has supported university for 70 years. The Wittenberg Guild has raised more than $1 million for scholarships for Wittenberg students since its inception.