Students, faculty, and community members laced up their running shoes Sunday morning to race, jog, or just walk in the annual Linda Yalem Safety Run, a commemorative fundraising and awareness event that circles North Campus.
The annual 5K race, which started at 9:30 a.m., paid tribute to Linda Yalem, a UB student who was raped and killed on the Ellicott Creek bike path 14 years ago. The two-fold event also promoted safety awareness, according to Ed Brodka, assistant director of leadership development programs for Student Life.
"The run is to promote personal safety and rape awareness, as well as pay tribute to Linda Yalem," he said.
Over 1,000 people participated in this year's event, which started at Alumni Arena, went past Governors, looped around Ellicott, and went down Lee Road and back to the arena.
"There was a good amount of participation, and the people seemed to be happy with the event," said Andrea Costantino, director of Student Life. "Every year we hope to get 1,000 to 1,100, so we were happy with the results."
Cash prizes were awarded to the race's winners. Constantino added that every participant was given a safety package as a gift for contributing.
First place went to Rick Stewart of West Seneca. Dan Courtney of Akron won second place. Douglas Johnston, a graduate student and assistant coach for UB's cross country team, placed third in the men's division of the run.
"I was really pleased that we were the top three guys running," Johnston said. "We wanted a good hard run, and placed better than last year."
Many participants ran together with their sports teams. Eileen Neubecker, a graduate student in English education, entered the run with fellow UB Women's Ice Hockey team members.
"We run as a team, and thought it would be great support for the school and women athletes," Neubecker said. "It was a good day for running too, cool enough so you don't get overheated."
Jen Jezorski, a junior speech therapy major, jogged alongside her cross-country teammates.
"We were racing to get out there and be a part of the event," Jezorski said.
The Yalem run also attracted hundreds of people from the Buffalo community.
"Being a chiropractor, I'm always interested in health and wellness," said Steven Niemiec, a local doctor at Balanced Living Chiropractic. "A lot of students come to us to enhance their sports performance. We also have interns from the exercise science program at UB participating in the run today."
According to Frank Ciccia, event coordinator and director for the Leadership Development Center, several campus groups make the Yalem run possible.
"The event was sponsored by a race committee comprised of staff members from Student Affairs, UB Athletics, and the Student Association," he said.
After the run, food and beverages were served in front of the Center for the Arts.
"There were a team of volunteers helping out and a lot of local donors," said Kevin Crowley, a graduate economics major working for the FSA and handing out Borzo soup. "The race had a nice flow to it, people came in and seemed to enjoy themselves."
Even the race's cleanup crew seemed to enjoy themselves on such a crisp fall morning.
"We actually get a sense of accomplishment," said Bryan Brown, a junior media studies major with a UB101 volunteer cleanup group. "What a university experience."
