April’s Spring Sprint benefits UW Arboretum

Stretch your legs for running season on Saturday, April 14 at the third annual Spring Sprint for the Arb, presented by Nakoma Dental.

The 5-kilometer Spring Sprint benefits the Friends of the Arboretum, which in turn supports the UW Arboretum’s research, restoration and outreach mission.

Hundreds of runners took to the road course on Arboretum Drive last year, and this year’s race is again timed as a great tune-up for the Crazylegs Classic. Sarah Carlson, co-anchor at WISC-TV and an enthusiastic runner and Arboretum advocate, will serve as lead runner.

Runners can register online at www.springsprintforthearb.org through April 12, or on-site at the Arboretum Visitor’s Center, 1207 Seminole Highway, April 13 and 14.

Registration is $20 for Friends of the Arboretum members, $25 for non-members and $10 for youth ages 13 to 17. Children 12 participate free. Registration for the Sprint and membership in the Friends of the Arboretum is just $55.

Advance registration — for adults who register by Sunday, April 1 — includes a Spring Sprint T-shirt. Those who do not want a shirt can register at a discount.

The Sprint is also a green event, kicking off Earth Week with paperless online registration, encouraging alternative transportation to and from the event, printing posters on 100% recycled paper, serving fresh food and water and organic fruit from large containers rather than individual plastic water bottles and composting waste. And Arboretum naturalists will lead a 1-mile walk around Curtis Prairie the morning of the Sprint.

Other Spring Sprint sponsors include: Melt, Nan M. Zimdars, Inc.; Eisele Executive Search; and Michael Best & Friedrich L.L.P. In-kind donation sponsors include: Trader Joe’s, Willy Street Coop; Road ID; and Student Emergency Medical Services Club.