Elizabeth A. Boudreaux
Staff Writer
A crowd of students gathered for the AIM Women’s Center Color Run 5K in the Piazza dei Santi Saturday at 10 a.m.
This year’s Color Run, rescheduled from April 24, was the first Color Run hosted on the Franciscan University of Steubenville campus.
The 5K run (3.1 miles) took place in three laps, starting from the Piazza. From there, students ran to the soccer fields, behind Egan, past the Portiuncula, down to Antonian Hall and up by the Friary where they would start again on the second lap.
With the registration fee, participants supported the work and ministry achieved at the AIM Women’s Center.
To encourage the participants and to give them a healthy dose of entertainment on an early Saturday morning, various volunteers assisted in throwing color powder at the participants, decorating their white T-shirts with bright pink, orange, blue and purple.
Intramural staff workers directed the runners through the track and around the multiple laps. The scenery of the campus was bright and beautiful, with the spring flowers in full bloom after the previous day’s rain, and the cloudless sky welcoming the participants at a mild 50 degrees.
Students of every athletic capability participated, including many from the Barons’ track team and other sports.
After the students completed the third lap, covered head to toe with colored powder, they were welcomed back to the Piazza to enjoy a celebratory after-party. Highlights of the party included walking tacos, compliments of Parkhurst Dining, and live music provided by John Paul Von Arx, guitarist and coordinator of worship on campus.
Runners, workers and volunteers socialized around snacks and tunes. Many also danced. Some discovered the remaining color powder and had a final paint war until the Piazza was covered in the chalky powder.
Maria Renner, a sophomore theology major, said, “I ran with my friend Amy (a future household sister) the whole time and (we) kept each other going. … Whoever was throwing blue liked to aim at people’s faces.”
Renner was a little nervous for the 5K initially, since she had not run one since high school, but enjoyed the fellowship and ease of not competing on a team. In addition, she was “glad we had an opportunity to witness for life.”
The Color Run was sponsored by Christian Students for Free Enterprise.