Despite forecasts of winter weather, the MSU police department is hoping for a big turnout at its mountain bike race for charity Sunday.
The first annual race is being held at the Abbott Road Park on Abbott Road, just north of Lake Lansing Road, to benefit the Jimmie Heuga Center in Edwards, Colo.
Olympic skiing medalist Jimmie Heuga, who has multiple sclerosis, formed the center in 1984 with corporate, medical and civil leaders. It was created to help those with the disease and to fund further research into multiple sclerosis.
Officer Dave DeKorte of the East Lansing Police Department, the main motivating force behind the creation of the event, said he has been working closely with the center for about seven years now, since his sister-in-law moved to Colorado to work for the organization.
“I wanted to have this event to bring awareness to the Jimmie Heuga Center and the work it does, to gain exposure for the park and some of the trails up there and as a way to bring the community together,” he said.
DeKorte said he has been collecting bottles and cans for more than a year to help ensure the event would happen.”
Pre-event registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with a $20 per person fee or $80 per team. The participants will be divided into several categories with races running from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., including a two-mile event for kids, an eight-mile rookie event, a 12-mile veterans race and 16-mile four-person relay.
Each category is further divided by age range, or for the team race by organization. Participants can enter in the event as late as 15 minutes before the race.
The races will all begin at the soccer complex just south of the park before entering the trail -a two-mile loop around the park. It includes both rugged off-road terrain consisting of grass, dirt and gravel as well as some heavily wooded areas. For that reason all participants are required to wear approved bicycle helmets.
Medals will be awarded to the winner of each division and all children.
The East Lansing Police Department is entering two teams of bike patrol officers and the SWAT into the event. They will be racing against teams from Eaton County, the Grand Rapids Police Department and teams from Midland and Ingham County. They will be battling for a traveling trophy.
Lucy Babcock, president and CEO of the Jimmie Heuga Center, said having programs like the bike race hosted for the organization in other parts of the country makes the staff very grateful.
“It is hard for us to run official events like this outside our area, so when we get someone like your police department to do them for us it’s huge,” she said. “We couldn’t survive without it.”
As far as the chilly weather being forecast for the event, DeKorte said the event will still go on and be a great time for those involved.
“You can still work up a sweat when it’s 40 degrees and snowing but I’m hoping for a little better weather,” DeKorte said. “No matter what, we’ll still have a good time.”
