The 21st-annual Calvin 5K Spring Classic is sure to get off to an emotional start.
On Saturday, April 30, Harold Schnyders '60 will be on the starting line. He will fire off the starting gun, just a year after he nearly died at this same race.
"I am alive today by the continuing grace and power of my God to do miracles," wrote Schnyders, in a letter to some of the first responders who helped him that day.
Schnyders, 72, who was walking the course last year, collapsed near the finish line.
Response was immediate. Calvin Environmental Health and Safety Officer Heather Chapman witnessed Schnyders fall from her car. She ran to his aid and yelled for someone to call 911. Other runners, including a nurse, OB/GYN doctor, ER doctor and EMS personnel arrived within minutes. After two attempts with a defibrillator, paramedics had successfully resuscitated Schnyders.
He calls what happened Saturday, April 24, 2010, nothing less than a miracle.
"It's not just about competent people and equipment, but it's the timely coincidence of all the factors that had to come together to save my life," said Schnyders. "That's my firm belief that it was a miracle of God."
Schnyders will not only start the race. He plans to finish it this year. He will walk the 5K course, something he says is part of his daily routine. (He says he walks four miles, four times per week).
And he knows he'll have a lot of supporters. He recalls being told that more than 1,000 registrants gathered in the Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center last year and prayed for Schnyders' resuscitation as it was being attempted.
"It's good to be back," said Schnyders.
The 5K Run/Walk begins at 9 a.m. near the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex (on the road between the Engineering Building and North Hall).
To register online, visit www.calvin.edu/classic or contact Donna Joyce at 616-460-4390. Late registration will be available beginning at 7 a.m. on race day in the Hoogenboom Recreation Center.
The Grand Rapids and Lakeshore chapters of the Calvin Alumni Association host the annual 5K Spring Classic to help fund scholarships for incoming students.
Note: Following the 5K race, the Karen Muyskens Fun Run, a 1-K race dedicated to the memory of Calvin chemistry professor Karen Muyskens who passed away in January 2008, will take place in the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
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Received on Wed Apr 27 09:11:46 2011
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