Triathlon team hosts 5K Color Run for Liberty Students

Liberty University’s triathlon team held its color run fundraiser Friday, April 26 at the Liberty East Campus Disc Golf Course. With hundreds of runners and 1,000 pounds of color, the triathlon team and student body came together for a fun ending to the season.

The 5K Color Run served as a fundraiser for the team’s travel to nationals in California. The team finished in the top 10 out of over 90 schools from all over the country.

“It was a very justifying end to our season,” senior and team captain Laney Plimpton said. “We had some athletes competing in their first triathlon this season. This was my 12th, so we had a lot of fun.”

Head Coach Heather Gollnick hoped that the added fun of a color run would not only help people have fun, but maybe even create a few new runners along the way. 

Gollnick said the team does everything together and operates like one big family rather than two separate teams. That statement proved to be true during the color run. Athletes lined up along the mile-long course to throw colored corn starch at the runners as they made all three of their laps. While there was no official winner or loser, every participant left the event in a different color from when they arrived, including the coaches and athletes.

“I think it went really well,” junior captain Skylar Waechter said. “Everyone is (covered) in color. It looks like it was a really fun time. We had music, color, and it was just really fun.” 

Students who came to the color run were covered from head to toe. The event featured several students who came to run solo as well as many individuals who ran to represent their halls. A crowd was present to cheer on friends and family in a fun take on a 5K. 

Gollnick says she hopes to make this color run an annual event on campus since events in the past had to be located off campus. To promote the event, athletes gathered on the Academic Lawn to throw color during the days leading up to the color run. 

“The time we spent on the Academic Lawn was really fun,” Plimpton said. “As a team, we were just able to have a good time with each other.” 

The money raised specifically helps the team travel with all of its equipment. With at least one bike per athlete, extra space is required. According to Gollnick, this color run was the most successful run the team has put on in recent years, and she thanks the students of Liberty for that success. 

The run, which took place two weeks after the team’s season ended at nationals, was supposed to be scheduled earlier before nationals. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the event was pushed back and turned into a fun way to end the season for the club athletes. 

“After leaving nationals with a great top-10 finish there, this is just such a fun way to spread the love of running to everyone else,” Waechter said. “Hopefully, we can do this again next year. This was a really good starting point, and I am excited for us to come back bigger and better next year.”

Weissinger is a sports reporter for The Champion. Follow him on X