Uptown Campus Warms Up for 5K

If you need to exercise — and in New Orleans with its many food temptations, who doesn&#39#39;t? — a pleasant walk or run through the lush uptown campus works perfectly. Now Tulane athletics has come up with an opportunity for community members to meander through the campus quads for a fund-raising “5K for 4K” event on Saturday (June 13).

“We think it will be a very fun event that's not only promoting healthy living but is also a way for us to reach the goals that we're striving for,” says Brandon Macneill, executive associate athletics director.

Organizers hope to set a record of 4,000 donors to the Tulane Athletics Fund, the fund-raising arm for Tulane athletics that supports Green Wave student-athletes in their academic, athletics and community pursuits.

Macneill and the event planners hope members of the Tulane community – alumni, fans, campus neighbors and employees — will join in to run or walk the 5K course through campus along with student-athletes from the university's varsity teams, as well as coaches. Green Wave followers across the nation are welcome to sponsor a participant, including one of the coaches or student-athletes who will be on the course.

“We have most of our student-athletes and coaches on campus this summer, so this is a way to get our kids to meet our donors,” Macneill says. “Who wouldn't enjoy a morning around the campus?”

The race/walk begins at 8 a.m. at the Westfeldt Practice Facility track located behind the James W. Wilson Jr. Center. While individuals can participate for $30, the event is free to all current Tulane Athletics Fund members, Tulane students or faculty and staff members and anyone who brings in at least one sponsor. Children below age 12 are free.

The 5K course heads from the athletics complex across Willow Street, continues up Drill Road, around Newcomb Place and the Newcomb Circle, and crosses Freret Street to the Gibson Quad. The course heads around Gibson Hall before returning to Greer Field at Turchin Stadium, where runners and walkers will traverse around the field before ending at home base.

After the event, a party on the baseball field will offer music and food. There are prizes as well — a Tulane Nike T-shirt for any donor, and gift certificates and more for multiple sponsorships. The ultimate prize, for the person with the top number of sponsorships, is an all-expense paid trip for two to the Army vs. Tulane football game this fall.

Registration and more details are available on the athletics website.

Macneill sees the event as a way to reach out to past supporters who may want to donate before the university's fiscal year ends on June 30, and possibly to New Orleanians who are dedicated walkers or runners, but may have never had a connection with Tulane in the past.

“The only way we can reach the goals we've set is through participation,” he adds.