Taking Green and Gold spirit to the trails

Got an itch to paint your face green and gold, sashay around in a green and gold tutu or stencil a (temporary?) Seawolves tattoo on your face? If so, UAA's Spirit Run might be the perfect occasion to unleash your school spirit and, literally, let it run wild.

The 5K event-a run covering 3.1 miles-is scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Alaska Airlines Center.

UAA Student Activities launched Spirit Run last year as part of the opening festivities for the Alaska Airlines Center.

"We wanted something like that," said Rachel Kampstra, UAA Student Activities coordinator. "We got a lot of positive feedback, people were real excited about it, had fun. It went so well, we wanted to make it an annual event."

How to take part

People from UAA and the community attended the (untimed) fun run last year, Kampstra said. It was free, then, because Athletics helped sponsor the event. This year, bibs are being sold to help pay for T-shirts and the cost of trail fees.

"We go around Goose Lake," Kampstra said. "We have to get permits from the Muni[cipality of Anchorage] to be able to use that officially."

Participants may register via uaatix.com. The advance price for entry is $5 for students; $10 for alumni and staff; $15 for the general public. People may register in advance until noon on Friday, Aug. 28.

Registration will also be available the day of the race starting at 9 a.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center. Race-day entry will cost $10 for students; $15 for alumni and staff; $20 for the general public.

Bib pickup is scheduled for 5-7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28, at the UAA Student Union, and 9-10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Three hundred T-shirts will be available, with priority given to anyone who registers online before the day of the race.

The race will not be officially timed. "We announce the time, we keep track of it, but don't publish the times," Kampstra said. "We announce it as they cross over [the finish line]."

Fred Meyer, Great Harvest Bread Co. and Subway are sponsors for the event.

Spirit Run will cap Welcome Week, which begins Aug. 22 with Convocation and Campus Kick-Off.

Splicing campus with community

The student group that won last year's "Most Spirited" award won the right to have their letters emblazoned on this year's shirt.

That group was Alpha Sigma Alpha, one of UAA's two sororities.

Esther Wee, a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, initially learned about the Spirit Run when Student Activities announced it last summer on Facebook.

"As an organization, we wanted to be more involved at UAA and build a stronger presence on campus," she said. "Participating in the Spirit Run seemed like the perfect way to do so. The excitement you get after encountering so many clubs and organizations at Campus Kick-Off, along with the beginning of the school year, continues."

Brandon Kelley, a member of UAA's Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, ran in last year's event.

"We heard about it through friends who worked in Student Activities as well as from the campus advertisement," he said. "The guys of TKE are all generally pretty athletic. We have guys who do marathons, powerlifting, bodybuilding and sports, therefore the guys normally jump on any opportunity to be active."

Last year, TKE members dressed up in green and gold and ran with a large TKE flag.

"The last probably 500 yards we started to chant a TKE chant and we were even able to get some little kids to run with us," Kelley said. "The funny thing is, the little kids were motivating us more than we did them! We were getting tired and they were still full of energy! This year we plan to have more guys show out and we're definitely going to go all out with the green and gold and TKE gear."

Kelley says there's another reason why the TKE members felt enthusiastic about taking part.

"We like getting involved with UAA," he said. "We show out to the basketball games and different activities UAA puts on in an attempt to [counter] the commuter school stigma UAA has been labeled with."

Wee said Spirit Run enhances involvement in campus events.

"Alpha Sigma Alpha won 'Most Spirited' last year and we are running again to keep our title," she said. "We had such a blast being together, feeling like a part of UAA-all while getting a little exercise in. We hope others will see that, too, and want to join."

Written by Tracy Kalytiak, UAA Office of University Advancement.