Welcome, everyone, to Midday Magazine for this April 4th, 2024.
Have your host, James J. Mailoff here.
In part two today, we're going to speak with our friend, Laura Hubert, for H. Educator
with UW-Madison Extension.
Right now in the studio, we have Run the Rapids 5K Walk Run.
We've got some representatives from that.
We have with us Matt Zakowski, Matt.
Good to see you.
Thanks, James.
Great to be here.
Always good to have you with us.
We also have Carrie Minow.
Carrie Minow.
Hi, now.
Minow, Minow.
Carrie, thank you very much for being here.
Let me make sure I get this right here.
J. R. C. Word.
J. R. C. Word.
Man, that sounds familiar for some reason.
Is that some familiar for some reason?
It does.
It's good to see you, sir.
Thank you.
It's good to be back here.
Yeah, it's great to have you with us, great to have you in studio again, and to talk
about an amazing event, one of our favorite events in this community.
People love this event, Matt.
It's only gotten more popular over the years.
Let's talk a little bit about the details.
Let's get into the cause and the mission of this great event.
Well, James, you mentioned it is one of the, first of all, when the longest running events
of its kind in Wisconsin Rapids.
And if you think about any five-carat-ten-k is usually for some endeavor or cause, and they're
all very worthy, but this one feels a little bit different because it really centers around
our greatest gift, and that's our children and grandchildren, and their families.
So this is our 19th year that we're doing this, and it's always
been a organized and run by the Wood County Human Services.
There are the ones that do the boots on the ground, work with these kids and their families,
and there's still one of the beneficiaries of this event.
And we're very proud that we have assumption-cantic schools as a partner.
Assumption is one of the leading organizations as a champion for kids.
So this is just a natural fit for us, and we're thrilled to be a partner with this.
The proceeds, everyone needs to know, there's goals towards the great work that's being
done by the Human Services.
Boots on the ground, working with these families and their kids.
And James, just last year in 2023, there were over 300 reports of child abuse in Wood
County.
That's thinkable.
That is abuse, ranging from physical, emotional, and sexual.
And that's almost a case per day, and that is almost a crisis that people need to be
aware of.
So, a great thing about this event is that we increase awareness of it as well.
So that's why we really appreciate you having us here to talk about this.
Oh, yeah.
I want to send a big thank you to, of course, the Wood County Human Services who do amazing
work in our community.
We appreciate so much of what they do, and always have our friends over their backs.
And assumption Catholic schools, you're so right about that, Matt.
They do so much in this community that it is above and beyond, really.
And they do, there's some of the leaders in this industry as far as bring attention to
this.
And as far as the cause, the child abuse statistics, we are in a divisive time in this country.
And I could be seeing that in the 50s or 60s or 70s or 80s or 90s.
It's always been that way.
But I would like to think that there is some universal truths out there.
And no matter who you are, you are on the right side of history on this.
And that the no abuse towards a child is ever acceptable under any circumstance whatsoever.
There are a handful, there are only a couple of things in life, I believe, are completely
black and white, that there is no defense for.
This is one of them.
This is one of the most important ones we have.
If we can't protect our kids, what are we doing?
What are we doing here?
And it's one of our, if not the number one law and the number one rule of us as adults,
not just your own children, but children in general.
It's vital going forward.
And those stats you read, one is too money, that is way too high.
I don't want to wait for an epidemic.
I do not want to wait until things get too bad or anything.
Causes like events like this help us raise so much attention and awareness and funds
to hopefully bring those numbers down, to hopefully make this something where in future
generations, this isn't something that they have to worry about, this isn't something
that they have to fight.
You know, one thing I'll add to that too, James, is that in reality, and this is reality,
is that this problem is never going to go away.
As long as there's human beings and we are of this world, we're always going to have
this.
The thing that's really wonderful about this event, all of this, myself, Carrie, J.R., the
sponsors, participants, artists, doing our part, they do what we can.
The battle is, and you too, James, for having to sign.
It's a topic that for a long time, like a lot of things, I should always mention this,
I'm on the board with Wisconsin's Rapids Family Center, so I'm a bit biased on this topic.
And I don't mind being, that's fine, believe me for that.
I don't think it's taking a big stand to be against child abuse, but nowadays you've
got to wonder about that.
Putting that out there, one thing that we note at the Family Center quite a bit is how
much is to change in the last couple of years with these topics, where it used to be we
had to talk about them like this.
And now we're finally speaking on them, like, within a raised voice, and that is only going
to be a good sign for us as a society going forward.
Events like this also help with that.
And you can't have an event like this without sponsors, and people that, you know, any event
has sponsors.
And they, you know, all these events we have in our area are great, they're fun, we've
got a lot of good things to go on.
But it means something different when you sponsor an event like this.
You are showing where you stand on this cause.
You are showing where you stand in the plates of history when it comes to this.
And Carrie, I'd like to recognize these sponsors, I'd like to talk a little bit about that part
of it if you don't mind.
Yes, thanks James.
An event like this, you're right, can't happen without great sponsors and people who are
willing to step up and help out.
You know, of course, a successful race needs participants.
And so we're excited about that and hoping to get a lot of people involved in that.
We're going to have beautiful weather.
And yes, yes, we are growing out of that.
Speaking into existence, everybody.
Yes, but I definitely like to recognize our sponsors because they really have stepped
up.
We've got some great, great sponsors.
Our platinum sponsors this year are the Anzantaga family and advanced janitorial.
Our gold sponsors are Renaissance and Dick and Michelle Lang, Silver sponsors, Aspires
Health, Bank Account Corp, Coldwell Banker, Seaworth Realtors, Gotchock Cranberry, Luke
Wyland, Eternet Law, Terrace Holmes, Custom Builders, Wisconsin River Orthopedics, Wood
County Deputy Sheriff's Association, and A Street Auto.
Our bronze sponsors are Becker and C.P.A., Express Recycling Solutions, from the Ground
Up Coffee House, Kohler Vision Center, and the Mid-State Nurses Association.
Our friend sponsor, the Wisconsin Rapids Professional Police Association, and our in-kind sponsors
are Advanced America, Duncan Donets, Quick Trip, Ocean Spray, Energy Media, and WFHR.
A big thank you to all of those sponsors, all those people putting into an industry like
this.
And I'm curious, Kerry, is there still time to be a part of this or donate if you want
to?
Absolutely.
Matt might be able to speak a little bit more on the donating part of it, but he's our
main contact.
Yeah, thanks, Kerry there.
Yeah, thank you, Kerry.
Right up until April 27th, some of them are always looking for people that sponsor this
great event, and just to throw this off their tool, not looking ahead, but we are doing
that next year's our 20th anniversary, so we're constantly trying to cultivate and build
our sponsorships, and they're never too late.
And if I can add something to that, you know, for each of the people that are hearing
this, that it's nice for you to know that as a result of those sponsors, your registration
dollars go to these causes.
So when you, whether you're a walker or a runner, or just going to show up and cheer
people on, if you register for this race, you know that your dollars are going to help
kids in our area.
One chair, it's a unique opportunity to have you here, not only because we haven't gotten
chance to talk in a long time, and it is good to see you, sir, but you have a different
role with the industry now in Coah Banker, but you, for many, for decades, you and your
family ran a very, very strong company in this area, and it seemed important to you,
even before I met you, I saw your guy, Coah Banker attached to events, attached to event,
attached to event.
What was it important, why was it important to you as a businessman to be a part of these
kind of events?
As was brought up earlier, I mean, we need to advocate for kids, you know, and especially
those kids that potentially are in an environment that they can't advocate for themselves.
And so that's why I think Matt and Carrie and the other people that are involved with
this event, the sponsors, are so passionate about it, you know, it's extremely important.
And this particular event has a special place in my heart because 19 years ago, I happened
to be the chairperson for the Rotary Foundation of our Wisconsin Rapids Rotary Club, and as
the chairperson of that, I figured, well, I better show up because it was an event that
we had decided to sponsor.
And I had enjoyed running in in in in prior years, but hadn't been doing any of that, and
I showed up in my khakis and some, you know, tennis shoes, and and just was planning
now walking it, and it was a gorgeous day, just like it's going to be coming up the
end of this month.
And and I'm like, man, you know, I feel like running.
And it was just one of those days where it just kind of captured you, I'm sure, you know,
you've experienced a day like that where it's just it's just invigorating to be outside.
And so I ended up, you know, running, you know, most of the course, I had been in shape
to really run the entire three miles.
And that was the beginning of me taking a new interest in running.
And and so because of that, it's got a very, you know, special place and for me and not
to mention what we're supporting.
Certainly.
And thank you for that.
I appreciate that back story there.
That's really interesting.
I'd always wondered where that started for you, how that got sparked.
That's interesting.
And it could get sparked for you being a part of this event.
You never know you could be another JR and find yourself in Boston at a marathon or something
like that.
Who knows?
And I think there's another note on that too, JR, whether you meant to or not, it is kind
of noteworthy to the audience.
Anybody can do this.
Anybody can do this.
Everybody can be a part of this one.
You don't have to be a runner to be in, in main, whether it's sparked something or not,
you get some good exercise.
You put into your community.
You're seeing people that maybe you don't get to see all the time.
And this course, JR, this course is beautiful.
It is a beautiful course, and it's a great opportunity to talk about that.
I would have to say that, and I've had the opportunity to run a lot of courses over
the years.
And this particular course, I think, is probably one of the most picturesque.
It goes along the Wisconsin River.
The starting line is down by the Moravian Church on 1st Avenue.
In place for those that are from the area where the market is, on Saturday mornings.
In fact, do they have that later on that day, or not?
The former's market starts in June.
Okay, so that's later on.
Yeah.
Okay.
They do have the winter's farmers market, but that's inside at the Moravian Church.
Got it.
Shouldn't interfere.
So that's the starting location.
It's extremely well organized.
There's same day registration available.
Packet pickup is day of the race, and it's very, very well staffed.
You're not going to be standing around a long time.
So at that start, Franklin Timing is our timer for this.
It's a timed event.
And so there's a good start finish line there.
There'll be music playing.
Matt always arranges for somebody to do a live national anthem, which is always a great
way to start out an event like this.
And then we take off on 1st Street, which has 1st Avenue, sorry, which has a little bit
of a rise, and then at the end of that street right there, at that first intersection,
we cross over to a paved trail, which is part of the Otto Agam trail in our area.
That goes right along the river, goes through a beautiful residential area.
Then you go underneath the overpass and enter Lyons Park, a nice shaded overhanging trees
there, some beautiful views of the river and the island.
And then that continues down to the Fireman's Memorial at Ben Hansen Park.
And at that turn around, there'll be a water station there in aid station if anybody needs
it.
You can take a break if you need to, right?
Right, exactly.
And then turn around and then follow that course back.
I would say that from the participation that we've had in the past years, the walkers
and the runners are very considerate of one another.
And so there's plenty of room on that paved trail where you're not running into people.
Yeah, which is not worthy too, because it's not just going to be runners out there, but
we'll let people walking, people with strollers possibly.
Yes.
A lot of variety out there.
So plenty of room and plenty of people giving each other grace through that.
Yep.
And along that line, Matt, can you speak to, because sometimes we get this question, can they
bring dogs on leashes?
They usually come down.
They usually come down.
Yeah.
So they can plan accordingly.
Excellent question, GR strollers, of course.
In fact, we have one of our guidance counselors at Assumption is going to have her child
all there and she's going to be all there right in the participate, but strollers are
welcome.
We really encourage that we don't bring dogs on.
Yeah, just for the safety of the pet, and also, you know, debt for the walkers and the
runners.
Yeah.
And the dog probably wouldn't enjoy it for more than a couple of minutes anyway.
So it's probably a good idea for the dog too.
But it's certainly good notes there, and I think if you're asking that question, GR, that
was a good one.
Is there a kid's dash as well that's a part of this?
There is.
And Matt and I both talk about this a little bit.
That's going to be at 830.
The walk run starts at 9, correct?
And for kids under 5, it's completely free, and I believe there's some participation awards
for the kids that are going to be participating in the kid's dash.
You want to talk about that?
And you want to have crosses that start to finish the line with the kid's dash.
We have an assumption, Catholic schools water bottle in the McCulley.
Oh, cool.
Oh, that's cool.
That's cool.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's very cool.
And, God, kids, they love stuff like that.
They're just going to enjoy that a lot.
That might even motivate a couple of them to finish.
That might it as pretty good.
That's good.
It really isn't necessarily everybody.
And that's going to be right in that area, so parents don't have to worry about losing
sight of their children.
It's a short enough out and back dash.
And this year we're doing something a little bit differently.
We're actually going to start the kids behind the starting line, which is also the finish
line, so they get that excitement of coming through the finish line.
That's a really cool idea.
That you guys do such great details on this event.
There's a really cool thing to add to it.
Every, we want to make sure the people register before April 12th, as well, because it's got
these cool t-shirts, drawstring bags that they could get.
Yes.
Very important to register ahead of time before April 12th.
Participants will receive a long sleeve.
It's a dry fit.
It's just like a sport.
Sport tag polyester.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
And then the first 200 participants who register will receive the drawstring bag.
Very cool.
Very cool.
A good incentive.
Get out there and do that.
These shirts are amazing.
You know, you not only will enjoy wearing it year round in four years, but it's a great
way of showing the community where you stand on these things, too.
And spreading the word about these events as well, and maybe somebody isn't able to attend
it this year, but because they see the shirt, they make a mental note.
They mark their calendar and they'll be there next year, especially when we got to 20th anniversary
of this, which we wanted to be as big as it can get.
And thank you for that, Carrie.
Appreciate it.
Matt, as we're wrapping up here in the last couple of minutes, how can you register
and I wanted to touch on the age divisions as well.
Sure.
You need to register.
Everything is done online and it's through our registration site.
Run the rap.
It's your race.com.
And it's pretty self-explanatory and simple.
I just want to quickly mention two chains.
Last year, we incorporated a corporate challenge, team challenge, and Caldwell Bankers, he would
do some real tours as a recipient in a great job, so we are still accepting that people
need to reach out to me.
Your company so I can give you a promo code.
You do that.
It's $5 off the registration.
So I know Caldwell Bankers see what real tours are doing strong.
You guys have a lot of them, but we have some serious challenges.
Yeah, we've got to get some competition here.
Yeah.
We're up for it.
Yeah, there you are.
Bring it on.
Yeah, right up.
The age groups change.
We have eight different age groups.
I believe it's 12 through, eight through 12, 13 through 19.
And then it goes 20 through 29, 30 through 39, all the way up through 70 and above.
Yeah.
The wars is the top three finishers, male and female in each age group.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I've got the complete list.
Nice job.
Matt did that off the top of his head.
That's always no.
I always think that's cool.
What you guys can do that stuff.
I have a right in front of me that website again, RunTheRapids.it'syourrace.com.
You can find out all the information, especially finding out more about some of the things we've
talked about today, but also registering.
That's a big part of this.
Want to make sure you register.
Can I make a suggestion?
That's a really long handle and probably nobody's going to remember it.
So if you just Google RunTheRapids, that site will come up.
I know it's been a while, but you and I are still still have that chemistry JR.
I tested that this morning.
I'm like, well, let me see here.
And I just typed in RunTheRapids, popped up right away.
Popped up right away.
So you're a good note by you there.
I appreciate it.
I appreciate so much of this.
Everything you guys have done, your team has done all the volunteers.
And speaking of volunteers, Matt, can we use volunteers for an event like this?
We can definitely can, James.
And again, the event takes place Saturday, April 27th, 90 a.m.
And our hub is the Centrelius Center River Walk.
Oh, yeah, I forgot about this.
That is plenty of parking in that parking lot.
And depending on what the weather is like, we do a lot inside the Centrelius Center if
we have to.
Yeah.
But volunteers, please reach out to me.
And we could always find a way to get somebody plugged in that wants to be part of this.
Absolutely.
It's a great event.
I'm not going to forget it.
I can't.
My son's birthday is the 27th.
So I really can't forget it.
But more importantly, not just as importantly, it's run the Rapids 5K Run Walk.
And this is one of our favorite events.
Meet everybody there, register and meet us there at the Centrelius Center on April 27th,
90 a.m. start time.
It's going to be a fun event.
It's going to be a really fun event.
We're going to spread the word about this.
Make sure you guys get a great turnout.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Thanks so much.
Appreciate it.
Appreciate it.
All right, James.
Take a scene coming up for you right here at 975 FM 1320 AM WFHR.
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