June 2, 2006

Area Educational Institutions Win Thousands at Cooley 5K Race for Education

Lansing Dwight Rich Middle School takes home 75 percent of the overall proceeds, winning the event’s top two prize categories (50% and 25%).

Lansing Public School’s Dwight Rich Middle School came out the big winner of the 7th annual Cooley Law School Race for Education.

The school, nominated by runners Bonnie Clark and Lori Abbott-Smith, both of Lansing, brought home thousands as part of the race that distributes all proceeds to area educational institutions. Winners are selected randomly through nominations from 5K participants.

As the winner of the top two categories, Dwight Rich Middle School will receive 75 percent of the funds raised.

Other area schools receiving funding include Resurrection School (K-8) (10 percent of total proceeds), Lansing Public School District (10 percent) and Michigan State University School of Music (5 percent).

The race also had several winners who ran the streets of downtown Lansing. The overall male winner was Eric Stuber, 42, of Lansing with a time of 16:25. The overall female winner was Regina Visocchi of Macomb with a time of 18:56.

The Cooley Law School Race for Education consists of a 5K run in downtown Lansing, a Kids’ Race around the Capitol (approximately ½ mile) and a Kids’ Capitol Dash (100 yards). The event serves as a fundraiser for area schools. More than $45,000 has been raised for area educational institutions since the race began in 2000.

More than 530 runners from all across Michigan participated in the Cooley Law School Race for Education. In addition to being a race for the Lansing community, the 5K is part of the Playmaker Series, a 12-race running series where runners compete for various prizes and points.

Founded in 1972, Cooley Law School is now the largest law school in the country. Cooley has three campuses across Michigan; its campus in downtown Lansing, its downtown Grand Rapids/Western Michigan University campus in West Michigan and its Rochester/Oakland University campus in southeast Michigan. In addition to the Juris Doctor program, students at Cooley can also pursue a Master of Laws degree in taxation or intellectual property