Brandon King Finishes First In Hooterz Fun Run In Cloquet

Wes Vork-NSO

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May 7

Wes Vork-NSO

CLOQUET – Under a rare sunny sky in Cloquet, runners, walkers, young folks in strollers, and dogs all got together for the annual Hooterz Fun Run on Saturday morning. A total of 230 people participated in the event to support breast cancer.

In what started as a small event with less than 100 people, the Hooterz Fun Run has grown steadily in each of the four years it has taken place. “We were very happy last year when we hit 200 participants. This year we had 170 pre-registered and another 60 show up on race day, giving us our largest field ever,” race organizer Becky Masessa told Northland Sports Online.

Youth prevailed at the finish line, with Brandon King, a junior on the Barnum track team finishing first with a time of 19:17. King was followed by Cloquet track athlete, sophomore Aaron Peterson who turned in a second place time of 20:36.

Rounding out the top six were Glen Flannigan of Saginaw (21:00), Mike McGrath from Utah (21:06), Roger Reinert of Duluth (21:21), and former CEC hockey star Jeff Leno of Cloquet (22:25).

McGrath said he was working in the area and decided to take in the race as a way to stay in shape. Besides staying in shape, Flannigan and Reinert were using the race as part of their preparation for Grandma’s Marathon. “It’s a great way to
keep in shape. This is a very nice course, a fast course and close to Duluth. It’s also for a very good cause,” Commented Reinert.

According to organizers, the event raised about $2000.00, which will be part of a larger goal. Masessa and three others will be
participating in
a three day walk in the Twin Cities in August of 2012 with the goal of raising a total of 10,000.00 for Breast Cancer Research. Money raised goes to benefit the Susan G. Koman Foundation with 100% of the donations going to Breast Cancer research and treatment.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com