The inaugural Homecoming 5K Brick Run was a prelude to tailgating and football festivities on Saturday that welcomed back to campus Elon alumni of all eras.
Runners of all ages and abilities took part Saturday in a new 5K race that carried them across an Elon University campus preparing to celebrate Homecoming 2015.
More than 60 people registered in advance for the inaugural Homecoming 5K Brick Run sponsored by the Office of Alumni Engagement. Alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students followed a circuitous route past the Inman Admissions Welcome Center, the Loy Neighborhood, the Global Neighborhood and Young Commons.
“A run is a way to engage alums of all generations, and it’s an activity that leads into tailgating and the football game,” said Brian Feeley ’03, Elon University’s director of alumni engagement. “The course takes runners on bricks that we all loved as students at Elon, right through the heart of campus. … We’re hoping this becomes an annual tradition.”
Top Three Male Finishers
Michael Rodgers (18:45.23)
Dave Gammon (21:30.24)
Noah Zaiser (22:09.47)
Top Three Female Finishers
Chika Kusakawa (21:31.74)
Cheryl Borden (22:21.23)
Amy Davis (22:41.49)
Alumni said they were excited to take part in the 3.1-mile race as part of Homecoming.
Megan Kenny ’05 and Carey Bostian ’04, college friends and now employees of Disney who were back on campus for only the second time since graduating, said a lot has changed over the past decade, not the least of which is the location of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
When both alumni were in school, their business classes were held in the Long building. It wasn’t until the year after Kenny graduated that the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center opened. “Since campus has changed so much since we graduated, we were excited to run this race and see what’s different,” Kenny said.
The Brick Run on Oct. 17, was Susan Pittman’s first ever attempt at a 5K race. The mother of two current Elon students was visiting campus from Pittsburgh to celebrate her daughter Stephanie’s 21st birthday and to watch her son, Josh, compete with the university’s club baseball team.
“If I were a true runner, I wouldn’t run on brick, right?” she said with a laugh. “But this is all about charity and having fun, right? And being fit! This is the start of what should be a fun day.”