University News

Fallen Soldiers 5K This Weekend at WIU

October 4, 2022

Share |
Printer friendly version

MACOMB, IL – On your mark, get set, run (or walk)! Registration is open for the 11th annual Fallen Soldiers 5K Run/Walk at Western Illinois University, which will be held this weekend (Saturday, Oct. 8). The annual event pays tribute to members of the armed forces, along with two of WIU's fallen soldiers, Capt. Derek Dobogai and Lt. Col. Robert Baldwin. The event will begin with a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. in the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center, with the race beginning at 9 a.m. in front of Western Hall on University Drive.

Since 2012, the WIU Fallen Soldiers 5K Run/Walk has raised $171,400 for the WIU Fallen Soldiers' Scholarship Fund, which honors the two alumni who were killed in the line of duty.

Dobogai, who graduated from Western in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in law enforcement and justice administration, was among the 14 U.S. soldiers aboard a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Aug. 22, 2007 in northern Iraq. Baldwin, who earned a bachelor's degree in industrial technology from WIU in 1993, was killed Sept. 21, 2010, when his Blackhawk UH-60 helicopter carrying international troops crashed during combat operations in the Zabul province of Afghanistan.

Race registration is $35. Individuals who cannot participate in person can do so virtually with a $40 virtual race fee. WIU student registration is $10 through race day.

For a $50 donation, Honor a Vet sponsors may honor a friend or family member who has served or is currently serving in the military. Every honoree will have their name, rank, and military branch listed on an individual sign, which will be placed along Veterans Row.

For more information, to register and/or to become a race sponsor, visit wiu.edu/fallensoldiers or email fallensoldiers5k@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing