After the sun goes down Saturday, campus will come alight with the glow of runners racing in Sigma Sigma Sigma’s annual Tri-Sigma Glow Run 5K.
Anyone can register with any Sigma until the time of the race, and it costs $10 for students and $12 for non-students. Teams of up to 12 members can register for the discounted price of $85.
Elizabeth Kozeny, sophomore from St. Louis, serves as foundation chair for Tri-Sigma and explained why the race is so important to her.
“I really like our philanthropy and it means a lot to me because it’s play therapy and I’m going to be a child life specialist, so it goes hand in hand,” she said. “And I’m an (organizational communication) major so it’s what I want to do.”
She and two other sisters make up the committee that planned the run, but the entire chapter has played a role, she said.
Whether it’s getting the word out through social media, hanging up fliers or anything in between, Kozeny has been able to delegate tasks to her sorority sisters. It was expected that each member recruit at least four runners, but most women went beyond just four, she said.
The day of the race, every member will have a job – working registration, handing out water, directing runners or selling T-shirts.
T-shirts will be sold to runners for $7 and non-runners for $10. Tri-Sigma will recognize the first place runner, the sorority and fraternity with the most spirit points and various team awards with congratulatory certificates.
Formerly known as the Jan Jones Wilson Memorial 5K Walk/Run, the race is held in memory of Jan Jones Wilson, a former adviser of the Murray State Tri-Sigma chapter. The run raises money for the Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation, which funds children’s play therapy and four play therapy wings in different hospitals.
Twelve Tri-Sigma sisters traveled to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C., over Spring Break to visit one such play therapy wing and see the fruits of their labor.
The Alpha Chi chapter will be set up at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in front of the Carr Health Building, ready for runners to register or check in for the 8 p.m. race.
The 5K raised more than $6,000 last year, and Tri-Sigma has set a $7,000 goal for Saturday’s profit. Four hundred people participated in 2014, and as of Tuesday, more than that had pre-registered for this year. About 500 runners are anticipated to show up this year, Kozeny said.
The course will be different than past years and be mostly on campus to make it easier for runners to follow. Tri-Sigma members will be at various points throughout the race pointing participants in the right direction and handing out water.
If it rains heavily Saturday, the chapter will postpone the run later into the night. If rain or storms continue, it will be canceled. Runners signed up through Tri-Sigma sisters should stay in contact for weather-related information on the day of the event, and everyone can follow their Twitter page for instant updates through the handle @TriSigma_AX.
Story by Kayla MacAllister, Staff writer