500 Trinity students have registered with David Tuttle, dean of students, to run as a team in the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half-Marathon on Dec. 3. Tuttle has organized a Trinity team to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon for 10 years.

Since we last reported, about half of the new contestants have dropped out. According to Dean Tuttle, this amounts to only 75 students left in the race.

Participants will receive a shirt and a medal upon completing the race. The first Tiger to cross the finish line will have the eternal glory that comes from beating the dean of students. This student, whoever they may be, will go down in Tiger history as the student who took on Tuttle and beat him at his own race.

Tuttle said that this year was the hardest year to race for him.

“These new first-years are super fast,” Tuttle said.

Christian Lee, a first-year business major, is running in the challenge. He was not sure whether he would be able to beat Tuttle.

“The dean’s got some speed. I’m expecting a tough competition with him,” Lee said. “I’m very ready to compete, and excited to push myself and see all the training finally pay off.”

Emi Mondragon, a first-year engineering science major, is also intending to run with Trinity’s team in the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half-Marathon. She is running to honor her mom.

“My mom is a very big runner and she runs 10 miles regularly. I’ve always wanted to be able to run with her without holding her back. I also wanted to prove to myself that I had the motivation to run a half marathon,” Mondragon said.

Mondragon was also unsure of whether she would be able to outrun Tuttle, but she is certainly not going to give up. She offered running advice to others who are challenging themselves.

“I think the most important part is not starting off too fast, if I want to make my best time and beat as many other competitors as I can,” Mondragon said. “ If there is anyone struggling to fit in time [for running], I would say to write your events down in a calendar and manage your time well. Also, if waking up early is difficult for you, try to stay in the habit of getting up early and try not to go out late as much,” Mondragon said.

Hannah Friedrich, a first-year, does not believe students have a chance against the dean.

“Having been a runner for several years, I think the dean is going to win this whole thing. He’s got this in the bag,” Friedrich said.

Friedrich was a competitive cross-country runner in high school and now runs for stress relief.

“The transition to college has been stressful, but something about running helped make it manageable,” Friedrich said.

Friedrich recommends carbo-loading with pasta the night before the race as this will give runners the energy needed to make it through the half-marathon.

Tuttle started Trinity’s team in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon 9 years ago after organizing multiple morning run programs. In these programs, students and faculty would meet up early in the mornings to go for a run with Dean Tuttle and his dog, Sochi. Eventually, with enough members, they began running for Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half-Marathon.

Tuttle said his favorite part of the competition is meeting with the students who run and getting to know them.

“They are typical Trinity students,” Tuttle said. “They’re intelligent and driven.”

Students have been training since the beginning of the school year. They go on runs that slowly grow in length and intensity. It should take around two and a half hours to run the full half-marathon, giving the students plenty of time to relax and revel in their success after they complete it. Friedrich, who has experience running competitively, recommends carbo-loading with pasta the night before the race.

Anyone interested in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon can contact Tuttle at [email protected]. The race will happen again next year. When it is time to register, an email will be sent out to all students with information on how to enroll.