Miles for Medals 5k raises $8,000 for Special Olympics Michigan

Kyle Madison, 6, was already awake before his grandma came to wake him at 6:30 a.m.

It wasn’t a holiday – it was the morning of the Special Olympics Miles for Medals 5k and fun run held at Finch Fieldhouse. Check-in began at 7:30 a.m.

Kyle’s brother, Caleb, 7, was still asleep. But Kyle was excited and awake extra early for one reason.

“Because I like to run,” Kyle said.

Caleb said he liked the event for a different reason.

“There was food and we saw the stuff from the parades,” Caleb said about the parade floats stored in Finch Fieldhouse.

Caleb said he was tired, but the 324 other people who participated in the event were also tired.

“People responded well and many alumni and students came to the race to kick off homecoming,” said Dan Ekonen, manager of coaches education and volunteers.

More than $8,000 was raised from the event, which will be used for the offset of costs for athletes who attend the eight Special Olympics events throughout the year, including sports training and athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities, said Ekonen.

The Miles for Medals event has been held at CMU for a quarter-century. This year was the 25th year of the event. Special Olympics has been affiliated with CMU for 35 years.

Ekonen said the people who participated in the event were a mix of students, alumni and Mount Pleasant residents.

Registration for the event cost $20 before Oct. 1 and $30 after. Participants received a t-shirt and medal after the run.

Kyle and Caleb wore their shirts to the Homecoming parade. They weren’t tired, each with a bag of candy from the parade. They were later on their way to their first CMU football game. They said they were looking forward to the game.

About 380 runners participated last year and raised $8,000. The event has been a popular event during the CMU Homecoming week because it is one of the events with the most participants. Besides the Medallion Hunt, which brings more than 1,000 participants, the Miles for Medals event has consistently averaged more than 300 participants.