Fresh off an Illinois running club championship, the Northwestern running club competed in the Adrenaline Rush 5K last Sunday to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The race traversed almost the entire NU campus, starting and ending at Lakeside Field and reaching as far south as the McCormick Tribune Center.

Senior Mike Wong and freshman Nathan Farber finished sixth and seventh in the men’s race with times of 17:14 and 17:20. Freshman Emily Ross finished third in the women’s race with a time of 20:46, and sophomore Marielle Gilbert placed 10th with 22:03.

“The race itself was very well organized, and it was a very nice day, too,” Wong said.

With winter approaching, the runners face a dilemma: to run or not to run. Running shoes are porous to give feet ventilation, and do not hold up well in icy, snowy conditions. That, coupled with prolonged exposure to extreme cold, makes running in the winter less than appealing.

“Club members really respect anyone and everyone who comes out to run during those cold months,” Wong said.

Up next for the runners are “Turkey Trots,” held all over the country on Thanksgiving Day. Members hope to return to their hometowns and bring back Butterballs for NU.

Sail away

The NU sailing team members routinely train on Lake Michigan, braving the wind and cold with nothing but a boat bed, a parka and a life vest between them and the frigid water.

Hosting a regatta last weekend, the team had home-water advantage against boats from Michigan, Michigan State, University of Chicago, Wisconsin and Miami (Ohio). NU fielded two teams for the two-day event, and one finished second to Wisconsin.

NU qualified in early November to compete next weekend in the Timme Angsten Memorial Regatta, which is seen as the championship regatta for fall racing.

Getting even

The NU women’s basketball club has been holding its own against the titans of community college hoops.

But the Wildcats entered a Nov. 10 tilt with the College of Lake County with a 3-3 record — and left it at 3-4. The Cats have one more chance for .500 in the fall when they take on Dominican College on Dec. 1.

“I feel we’ve been pretty intense,” club president Sarah Barnes said. “We’ve played a lot of games and come together as a team. It’s been a good quarter.”

Reach David Morrison at [email protected].