Milo Celebrates His Third Birthday

ANNUAL MILO MILE DEDICATED TO MASCOT’S BIRTHDAY

It was an early morning for a worthy cause to celebrate the third birthday of CU Denver’s mascot Milo by running a mile around campus.

The route for the race consisted of three laps starting at the Tivoli, continuing around the King Center, past the Arts Building, to the Auraria Library, and then back. Volunteers, cheerleaders, and Milo himself were scattered around the route to cheer on runners.

The participants had the opportunity to earn some free CU Denver swag, such as hats, gloves, and T-shirts, if they ran with a black or gold balloon.

Many of the contestants were psyched to do something unconventional during their week. Leah Novak, a full-time staff member that manages the new Family-Parent Program, was stretched and ready to go. “I did it last year,” Novak said. “I loved it. We’ve got to celebrate Milo’s birthday, right?”

Jun Wang, a doctoral student in Civil Engineering, ran the Milo Mile for the first time. “I am extremely excited,” Wang said.

After finishing, participants earned a free breakfast with scrambled eggs, hot potatoes, and fresh coffee. A Naked Juice booth handed out free samples for participants to enjoy at the start of their the day.

While participants enjoyed breakfast, the event organizers gave awards to the runners for being the first to finish, staying in the middle of the pack, and wearing distinct running attire. Prizes included more CU Denver gear, like water bottles.

Chris Herr, a graduate assistant at the Office of Student Life, helped coordinate the event. Herr and Student Life made some changes this year so the event could be as enjoyable as possible. “Breakfast this year was a change,” Herr said. “We served cupcakes last year, which weren’t such a hit at eight in the morning after a run.”

Due to construction, organizers constrained the race route to only a particular part of the campus. “We had a track, but we lost it to construction,” Herr said. “Hopefully next year we will have the track again.”

Nicholas Beers, the mastermind behind the first Milo Mile, said that there were noticeable improvements with the event compared to last year. “Even the shirt design is different,” Beers said. “The posters are different—it’s not so cut and dry. The event feels more friendly.”

Herr and Beers agreed that getting more students and volunteers to participate would be the biggest goal for next year. “We had 65 people attend,” Herr said. “Hopefully we can scale it up even more next time.”