A scenic 5K run around campus on Saturday morning will bring alumni and students together in a new addition to the annual Homecoming festivities.
The Tufts University Alumni Association (TUAA)-sponsored Jumbo Stampede Cross Campus 5K Fun Run will take runners across most of campus, with the racecourse winding through the Rez and Academic Quads, Bowen Gate and many other Tufts campus landmarks. The race will start and end at Ellis Oval.
The TUAA designed the racecourse in a way that allows participants to get a comprehensive view of campus. Many alumni who might not have seen the results of recent campus construction will be participating.
"We want this to be a kickoff to the alumni Homecoming festivities," said senior Kelly Lynema, TUAA intern for campus constituencies and co-race director. "It will be a great way to get more students and alumni involved in Homecoming."
Homecoming traditionally brings alumni back to campus for a variety of sports games and other events. This year's Homecoming football game, which will take place at Ellis Oval only a few hours after the race concludes, pits the Jumbos against Bowdoin.
"Our overall goal is to provide an opportunity for students and alumni to engage with each other," said Samantha Snitow (LA '02), assistant director for young alumni and student programming and co-race director. "We also wanted to expand the Homecoming activities to give alumni and students a different type of opportunity to participate in the weekend who might not have been interested in the existing Homecoming events."
In line with Homecoming's festive atmosphere, the run will spotlight school pride. Runners with the best costume and most school spirit will receive prizes.
"We encourage people to get dressed up," said Lynema, who designed race t-shirts and other custom-made goods, including bibs, flyers, prizes and biodegradable race bags.
Prizes will also go to the top three male and female finishers, as well as to the top finishers in each age group.
Though an event named the Jumbo Stampede has taken place in previous years, this is the first 5K run to occur on campus during Homecoming, according to Snitow.
"The idea came from attending an alumni-relations conference with other schools," Snitow said. "They had a lot of success with 5K races, and we adapted the idea to Tufts because of the large running community and possibility for success."
Snitow and Lynema think the event will be a success because of the large community of runners on campus. They have worked on the race with Don Megerle, director of the President's Marathon Challenge, the popular Tufts program that organizes 200 runners each year to run the Boston Marathon.
Megerle, who helped to organize the event and distribute flyers, credits university President Lawrence Bacow's support of events such as the President's Marathon Challenge and the Jumbo Stampede for the success of runs at Tufts. He praised Jumbo Stampede organizers for setting up this weekend's 5K.
"We used to do a race like this years ago on Homecoming morning," Megerle said. "I don't know why it was discontinued, but Kelly and Samantha have done a great job of reconstructing and reemerging the Jumbo Stampede."
Saturday's race will begin at 9 a.m., and the course will remain open for an hour in order to allow participants to run or walk the 5 kilometers, or 3.1 miles, at whatever pace feels comfortable.
A post-race party will take place at the track and will feature complimentary sports massages provided by The Elizabeth Grady Company as well as post-race stretching clinics from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. led by students from Tufts' Boston School of Occupational Therapy. A continental breakfast will also be provided for all participants.
The TUAA plans to have a table set up in the campus center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today so that additional people can register and participants who have already registered can pick up their bibs.
Registration will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. on the day of the race, though race organizers are encouraging people to register beforehand to avoid any last-minute confusion. Each participant and volunteer will receive a long sleeve t-shirt.
The TUAA is still looking for people who are interested in volunteering.
