Judith Wind

Sophomore Emily Wind after the Pumpkin Run. She had to run the 5K through a corn maze while holding a twelve pound pumpkin. “While I am running I just think to myself that there are women giving birth right now and all I have to do is run. Also, don’t eat a lot before you run; that is never a good idea,” Wind said.

With eight 5Ks completed in seven months, sophomore Emily Wind, despite injuries, is gearing up to running again. Wind started running 3.1 mile long races for various charities during last spring before girl’s lacrosse began their season.

“It all started when I was getting ready for lacrosse season and I knew that there was going to be a lot of running so I decided to do it to help me train for the long distance running in the sport. After I started, I thought that if I could do one I could do more and it was for a good cause,” Wind said.

Wind runs every 5K with her mom for mother-daughter bonding. To find fun races, they will Google about 5Ks in the St. Louis and pick the ones that look the most fun.

“We do it to bond, but we are never running together. I am faster, usually, by a solid five minutes,” Wind said.

Training for the races, for Wind, includes either four miles at the Levy in the Valley or two miles in her neighborhood. She tries to go running whenever she can to improve her skills and times.

“Before the summer, I ran just to say that I did. But then I injured my back and could not run and it really made me think of people who couldn’t run at all. It made me want to run for them. I also have an aunt with a brain aneurism and partial paralysis on the right side of her body so I think of her while I am running,” Wind said.

Before Wind goes running she needs her running shoes, socks, iPod and special running headphones. Her favorite songs to listen while she is running is “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore, “You Make My Dreams” by Hall and Oats and “Take a Walk” by Passion Pit.

“Can’t Hold Us is probably the best running song ever,” Wind said.

So far Wind has run in the Color Run for Autism Speaks, Make Tracks for the Zoo for the Children’s Hospital, Guts and Glory which helped fund people fighting chrones disease, The Lemon Drop 5K sponsored by LuLu Lemon, The Great Pumpkin Run and The Gumbo Flats Pumpkin Run.

“The Color Run was really fun and the paint was so cool. The Great Pumpkin Run was also one of my favorites because I had to carry a twelve pumpkin pound through the corn maze we ran through,” Wind said.

The events she is planning on running are the Hot Chocolate Run, the Santa’s on the Loose Run that is helping to fund St. Louis Crisis Nursery and the Midnight Howl sponsored by the Wolf Café.

“While I am running I just think to myself that there are women giving birth right now and all I have to do is run. Also, don’t eat a lot before you run; that is never a good idea,” Wind said.