DHL: Chemical biologists fired up for 'hat trick'

Last year’s winners of the trophy for fastest University of Copenhagen team at the DHL relay have no problem sticking their necks out. They admit to the University Post that they are sharp, and ready, before tonight’s race.

The team, ChemBiol1, is a group of chemical biologists from the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, a department that recently merged into the Faculty of Health and Medicine. If they win, it will be three years in a row.

“We have yet again three teams in our group… and a team that we hope will be able to run fast. It is exactly the same line-up as the team that won last year, and so we will have to see how far this will go,” says Kristian Strømgaard, a professor and former 400 metre track star.

See the University Post guide for participants here.

High energy men taking it easy

Last year, the ChemBiol1 winning team was made up of Jonas Eildal, Theis Wilbek, Kristian Strømgaard and Niels Grøn Nørager: Nørager has a personal best for five kilometres of 15:06.

He points attention to his colleagues on their women’s team ChemBiol 2 apparently “sharp this year”, he says in an e-mail to the University Post.

The ChemBiol teams’ bid for the trophy will be aided by possible weakness from their traditional rivals from the Niels Bohr Institute: Kim Splittorff, a high energy physicist (no pun intended), ran five relay legs – a total of 25 kilometres last year in a time that was technically faster than the winning team did.

HIV research women not taking part

This year, his physicists’ team ‘The causal horizons’ is concentrating on the after-party and will be “fairly competitive at the beer dispenser,” he says to the University Post, adding that he “is really looking forward to it: “Late summer,nice colleagues, and beer”.

On the women’s side, last years’ winners were from the University’s HIV research programme. This year, they are out, and an opportunity is thereby opened.

“We are of course still fast, but sadly we are not taking part this year,” says Bitten Aagaard, one of their speedy runners from last year.

“Now other women will have the chance,” she says.

See the University Post guide for participants here.

miy@adm.ku.dk

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