Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this Monday, April 7th, 2025.
Have your host James Jamail off here.
In part two today at 430, we're going to be speaking with Amy Shide from the Wisconsin
Rapids Family Center, looking forward to that.
Right now, been looking forward to this one for a while.
We've got our good friends in to talk about the 20th annual Run the Rapids 5K Run walk.
Looking forward to this one.
Let you guys introduce yourself so the audience can put a voice to the name,
but that's not going to be hard for them because these are voices we've heard many times, everybody.
Go ahead and start right down the line here.
All right, JR Seawirt of Coldo Bankers Seawirt Realters.
JR, very good to see you again.
Thank you for the time.
I always appreciate it and very good to see you sir.
Thank you, good to see you.
James, always thanks for having us.
Matt Sikowski, the Sumption Catholic Schools, I'm the Director of Advancement,
and this is my fifth year involved with the Run the Rapids.
Always appreciate the time Matt's always good to see you.
Thank you for being here.
Guys, this is the 20th annual.
Man, that's not good.
I didn't see that.
We do this every year and somehow it's still stuck up on me.
That's pretty impressive.
Let's go ahead and dive right into the event and start where you'd like to necessarily mount.
Sure, it is 20 years and that is really something, James.
If you think about it, the longest running event of its kind here in Wisconsin Rapids.
It usually, I like to think, kicks off the spring.
The spring season.
Yes, yeah, yeah, definitely.
But there's a deeper meaning to this event and it really sheds light
on child abuse prevention and it really highlights the outstanding work that's being done
by the Wood County Human Services.
There are the ones who are working with these kids and families directly and all the proceeds
goes towards their efforts to combat this.
So it really is a great event.
The kickoff spring, but the meaning being, you know, this is still an issue in our community.
And I like to think, James, that everyone involved in this event,
be it our sponsors, you know, I'm going to recognize in the little bit our participants,
our volunteers, our in-kind sponsors like yourself, we're a collective light that
does our best to overcome this darkness of child abuse.
So let me just give you some quick facts.
In 2024 alone, there are over 300 reports of child abuse neglect here in Wood County.
And that focuses on physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional damage,
abuse to an unborn child.
And we can't forget the neglect of nutrition as well.
I mean, that's a problem.
So really, this event focuses shed light on that.
It's a great cause.
Yeah.
In a day and age where we know how divisive and how things can be and how it can separate things,
this is a topic that we touch on whenever we have a chance.
I will admit, as I have to the audience many times, when I was young, I was abused.
And this is a topic that is very sensitive to me and my family.
We were personally affected by this.
And I also work with the Wisconsin Rapids Family Center.
And this is a topic that we work on very highly on that as a board member over there.
All that being said, none of that matters.
Like, I would hope that I care just as much about this topic and just as much about this as
anybody else out there that does.
I'd like to think this is one of the ones that brings us together.
You did not hear us mention in R or D or poor or man or woman or any of these things.
This involves all of us, all hands on deck.
This is about our future.
This is about the betterment of our communities.
And this is also a really fun and exciting event as well.
So I want to lose sight of any of that.
But I did feel like it's not worthy with these things.
And something that I feel like is relatable.
Well, again, whether you have been through this or not,
most of us by this point in your lives,
I have understood or have been around or heard some experience with abuse of children.
And there's no six degrees of separation anymore.
It's like we're talking three, four degrees now.
So hopefully we got everybody engaged.
We got people wanting to care about this event.
Let's talk about the event itself and what people can expect with this format.
I think James, that's one of the reasons why
we get such a great level of participation at this event.
And it's an event that's designed for
whether you are a walker or a runner or just a supporter.
Matt and I were talking about this yesterday.
A lot of fundraisers in our community,
which is a good thing that we've got a community that cares.
But this particular event always gets a great turnout because people want to
stand up for those children.
And just registering and being there and knowing that
a good share of your registration is going towards that fundraiser is huge.
And it gives us all an opportunity.
You're involved, like you mentioned at the Family Center.
But not everybody has that opportunity to get involved in an organization that is doing so much.
And I think this is your chance.
So if you're listening and you haven't ever done this before,
please go on to the site and register.
Matt will give details on that a little later in our discussion.
And if you've been there before, please come back again.
We'd love to see you. We'd love you to stand up for these kids.
This is one of those topics, like some things in life.
You know what? I got to pause for a second here.
How great is JR's voice?
It's been a while since I heard that voice, sir.
So smooth.
I never thought of that.
It's got such a great voice.
It's been a while since I heard everything.
It's good to have you here.
Some of these topics we talk about on the airwaves here,
even in general, on Midday Magazine, can seem so big and so large.
And oh, what can I do?
How can I help?
Topics like this, I appreciate, because they may have that,
but you have events like this that answer that to a degree.
That, oh, well, this is a big one.
How do we attack this?
What can we do about it?
Here you go, everybody.
We've been doing this for 20 years,
as far as raising attention, awareness,
and funds for this particular topic.
I think that that's part of what's so engaging about this one, too.
And it pulls people in as well.
And it's affordable.
And Matt and I enjoy going to different running events.
And the pricing on this is still very affordable.
And Matt, did you want to touch on that?
Yeah, absolutely.
JR, it's, it is a fundraiser.
That's the main thing that it's the proceeds are going towards
exactly what we're talking about, but we try to keep it affordable
and to make it affordable for people to be able to participate.
So for example, we have a few different rates.
If you're age 11 and above,
it's currently right now $30.
And if you wait till race dates, $35.
And then if you're 10 and under it's $15,
race date, $20, and you can register on,
it's run the ramp, it's your race.com.
When it comes to this JR,
you touched on this before.
This is for runners, walkers, all of the above.
Mm-hmm.
In fact, over the 20 years, I've attended most of them.
And I've seen people that are there from 8 to 80, you know.
I mean, so it really is.
And it's a great community event.
And what we try to do when Matt was talking about the financial aspect of it,
and he's going to touch on the sponsors.
Even though we have participation medals and t-shirts,
if you register in time at a bag, you know,
for the first 200, that is pretty much all covered by the sponsors.
So your registration really is going to help these kids.
That's a great point to you.
I appreciate the details on that.
I wanted to also mention real quickly,
before we get into the sponsors and some of the other aspects of this,
I got two runners with me.
And I love to run, but I'm not like a pro or anything.
Like what you guys have done and stuff,
and some of the marathon work you've done.
If somebody is in, you know, on the fence,
and they've wanted to do something like this for a long time,
you can speak to this much better than I can,
but this feels like a really good first step into this world,
into running, marathoning, anything like that.
No point of our got to start.
You know, I couldn't help myself, JR,
but can we touch on that a little bit to people
that may want to be interested in this?
And we're just kind of just maybe just on the fence about it.
Sure. 20 years ago, the Wisconsin Rapids Rotary Club
and also the Marshfield Rotary Club were the first sponsors
and organizers for what became the Run the Rapids.
And at that time, I was on the Rotary Foundation for a local board.
And so I figured I had to show up, you know, to support the event,
which I definitely wanted to do.
And I showed up in my khakis and a pair of walking shoes.
And it was a, it was a gorgeous day.
Sun was out. It was cool.
It was just beautiful.
And I thought, well, how nice.
You know, so I went out on this and,
and, and years prior, I had done some running,
but nothing, you know, of really any great significance.
And I just said, you know, I feel like running.
And, and so I ran some and walked some and then ran a little bit more.
And James knows this story.
It actually got me back into running and ended up leading to doing
several Boston marathons and 15, you know, total marathons at nine in Boston.
And, and so this is really special to me.
So I wasn't going to bring that up.
I made him, I made him everybody.
And, and I think it's no worthy.
I think that it's, there's a lot of stories out there that could end up starting that way, James.
That's true.
Especially with this in particular event.
Because whether you, maybe this is the only one you attend every year,
or maybe, you know, creates a passion in you to want to do this more in everything.
Yeah, well put.
It's something that you can feel.
I love this about our community and how great our community is at doing these events.
We bring attention and awareness to a topic that needs to.
While at the same time, this is a fun event.
This is a, you know, great community event.
I know people every year that have the time they only see this so and so is when they're at
this event and the fellowship that comes out of this community that comes out of this one,
the friendships that are made.
There's so many wonderful layers to this one.
I want to, before we get into the details and the breakdown of the day and how that plays out,
I wanted to also mention to people that you can share your results from this, the times that
you get from this and everything.
So that's a key part of this, a fun part of this as well, Matt.
Yeah, so our, it's urays.com and that's our, our registration platform
is handled by the person that's times this event.
Jake Franklin from the Franklin finish.
Who's a local person?
Yeah, and who is originally from this area.
Yeah, cool, very cool.
I think that's a fun part of this too, being able to do that for anybody that does say
it a little more seriously or anything or maybe wants to take it seriously.
Who knows, you know, or maybe just get a good time and you want to show it off.
I mean, that's fine too.
We are speaking with Matt and J.R., we're talking about the 20th annual Run the Rabbids 5K Run walk
coming up right around the corner.
Let's talk about Saturday, April 26th.
Where this is taking place, what time people should show up and some of the logistics of this, Matt.
The event takes place, our home base is the Centrelius Center.
And we are very thankful to be able to have that.
That is where our pre-race bib pick up.
If people want to register the day of, they need to go out to the Centrelius Center.
Plenty of parking.
And that's where they
proceed and register.
And it's very important that we have that.
We've had some challenges with the weather last couple of years.
It's just that time of the year.
So the Centrelius Center really gives us an opportunity.
For people to pick their things up inside.
And then for the most part of the day is not really
weather-indusive.
We always go back to Centrelius Center.
And that's where we have our post-race award ceremony.
So that is our home base.
We have a kids' dash.
It starts at 8.30 and that's free to the public.
And the race starts promptly at 9.00 AM.
Right by the Moravian Church.
And Gerald will go over the course in a little bit.
So it's Saturday, April 26th.
Yeah.
7.30, 8.30 is a race day registration.
So keep that in mind.
And as far as that course JR,
if you don't mind getting into that a little bit with us.
Sure.
Well, it's a, I think, a very scenic course.
And it's one of, I think, the iconic areas in our, in our community.
And the investment that's been made in that auto-agum trail,
which is a paved asphalt trail.
Most of the races is on that.
And as Matt mentioned, we start, you know,
before the race starts in the Centrelius Center.
And a block away is the starting line.
And so gives you a chance to kind of loosen up.
And if the weather is crazy.
And interestingly enough, in the 20 years,
there's only been one time that we had to cancel.
That's impressive, actually.
In 20 years.
That's pretty hard impressive, wow.
This is Wisconsin.
Yeah, that's, that's actually very impressive.
And that year, I think we got 30 inches of snow.
Okay, they really came out of, was waiting for us.
So, so you can stay warm in the Centrelius Center.
Walk down and, and the start is,
Matt mentioned is near the Moravian Church.
That's the intersection of Goggins and First Avenue South.
From there, and it is a chip-time event,
we encourage the runners to move forward to the starting line.
And the walkers to, you know, just let that get off.
Being a chip-time event, no problem.
You know, your time is still going to be your time.
So, we take off going down First Avenue South.
And that is a, it's closed for, for the race day.
So, you don't have to worry about dodging traffic or anything like that.
At the end of that street, right before you get to the intersection
where the Mead Mansion is.
That's when we get on to the Ottawa Gym Trail.
At, very pretty, tree-lined,
definitely wide enough for an event of, of this size.
And then you go back onto First Avenue for just a little bit,
really nice residential area.
Those homes overlook the water.
You go underneath the, overpass for the,
Rev. You Expressway.
And then you enter,
at Lyon's Park.
Goes nicely along Lyon's Park.
Then the next park is Hanson Park, I believe.
And the halfway point is at the Fireman's Memorial.
There'll be a well-marked turnaround.
The course is marked.
I believe in half-mile increments.
Is that right?
Or is it one mile?
Do you remember?
One mile increments, okay.
There'll be a water station right near the Fireman's Memorial,
where you make the turn and then you come back the, the other way.
And so you get a chance to, to see it both directions.
And the people have been really good about if they're walking
with kids or a stroller or that type of thing to move to the side.
If, you know, the runners are coming the other direction.
And it's something to keep in mind,
whether you were a runner or you're just going to be bobbing around that day in town,
keep in mind that this event is going on and, you know, be safe out there, everybody.
Matt, we wanted to make sure to make time for the sponsors.
And mention them and shout them out a little bit.
So I want to do that now.
Absolutely, James.
Bob Lyon, the sponsors, really couldn't have this event without their support.
And it's really a, I think just an incredible cross section of the community
of that support in this great event.
And I'd like to go through that right now and go right through it.
So we have our platinum sponsors, advanced janitorial,
the Anne, Santaga family.
We have our gold sponsors, the dental suite,
focusing on Elizabeth Dulittle and Jason Wernick,
callable bankers, Seward Realtors, always there for 20 years.
One of our gold sponsors, complete control, incorporated,
Dick and Michelle Lang.
We have our silver sponsors, James.
We have Aspirus Health, bank account corporation,
dynamic alliance roofing, the Wood County Sheriff's Deputies Association,
Terrace Custom Homes, Luke Wyland, Attorney at Law,
Wisconsin River Orthopedics, Midstate,
Student Technical College, Student Nurses Association.
And we have Curie Vanert State Farm,
Braun Sponsors, Becker and Cum CPA, Express Recycling Solutions,
Incorporated, from the grown-up coffee halls in Roastery,
Red Run Property Services, 8th Triad Auto,
our friend sponsors, Wisconsin Rapids,
Professional Police Association.
And then the lastly, our in-kind sponsors,
they have been outstanding.
We have WFHR, along us to be on this morning
to talk about this event.
We have Advanced America, Crock Acceptic,
Quick Trip, Ocean Spray, Pineries Running Lab.
They will be doing free massages after the race and running.
There you go.
It's really a nice thing.
We're fed into your skin.
Yeah, exactly, yeah.
A nice little addition to the race.
And then we have Renaissance Learning,
our beneficiaries, of course,
I mentioned Wood County Human Services,
the organizer of this event is Assumption Catholic Schools,
and we have the Franklin Finish being our timer,
and I can't forget NRG Media has always been very supportive.
So I was really a great cross-section, a team effort,
and it really is an honor being part of this,
with all of these wonderful people.
To talk about the awards and some of the prizes,
because I think that also ties in.
Yeah, we got about a minute left.
Sure, so very, thanks, Cher, very quickly.
We have a few new things.
One is we have some, we had a few people donate,
Garmin 4Runner 55, it's a GPS watch.
So we're going to have a drawing for a male.
Yeah, and female finisher at the end.
Nice.
This week is an important week.
If you're registered to be guaranteed a t-shirt,
people love our t-shirt.
Yeah, they collect them.
Yeah, they're long-sleeved.
We're going with a different material this year.
Right on.
And then we have our drawstring bag,
that JR alluded to earlier,
that's an athletic bag.
The first 200 people that register
are able to be guaranteed this.
Again, all made possible from our sponsors.
Yes, right.
Yeah, a big thank you to them.
Guys, if people want to register,
if they want to find out more about the event,
how can they do that?
They can go on our registration site.
James, that is runtherapidsitsurace.com.
That is that's the place to be that you can register
final information as our course map that you need to be aware of.
And they forget all that just Google it.
Exactly, I was going to say I threw it in the just to test it out this morning.
I threw that into my search bar run the rapids.
Wisconsin rapids pop right up.
You should be able to find it real easy for you right now.
And if you get on that, it'll have my contact information
where you can get ahold of me at Assumption,
Catholic schools, if you have any questions.
Always appreciate the time you guys.
Always good to see you guys.
Appreciate it.
Doors always open.
Well, do you take care?
Have a good run and we'll talk more about the event
as we get closer to it guys.
Thanks for having us, James.
Appreciate it, James.
We'll be back more midday magazine coming up right here at WFHR.
