Grey skies and cool temperatures didn't keep anyone away from Bilkent University Spring Run 2000. A crowd of 400 runners, joggers and walkers gathered outside the East Campus Sports Hall on Saturday morning to prove their physical fitness. Shortly after 11 a.m. Professor Ali Doğramacı blew his whistle to signal the start of the competition and the competitors sprang into action.
The Bilkent Sports Department organizes a run twice a year as a way to encourage people within the Bilkent community to get more involved in sports and fitness. This year's runners included faculty members and students of all ages as well as players from Bilkent's ladies football team. The run is also open to guests and, this time, a large group of local high school students came.
The 4.5 km route heads from East Campus down along the lake. From there, runners follow the lengthy uphill climb until the road evens out near student parking. The last leg of the race is a piece of cake, running past the library and along the back road to the Main Campus Sports Hall. After crossing the finish line, participants are given their placing number and a much-needed bottle of water. Before the awards ceremony, the step aerobics team from Bilkent showed off their physical fitness by doing a step workout for the crowd. Their performance was followed by a special presentation of medals to 16 of the youngest participants in the run and recognition of the female footballers who competed in the run.
Professor Ümit Berkman, Vice-Rector, presented trophies to Nilüfer Yapıcı and Ahmet Yalçın who were the overall winners for the Bilkent University Spring Run 2000. Zeynep Köksal, Dean of Students, gave the awards to the winners in the age 11-15 category.
The full list of winners in all the various categories of the Spring Run 2000 will be published in next week's issue of Bilkent News.
