By Piper Rutherford | Staff Writer
Registration is now open for the 55th annual Bearathon half marathon and Sic ’Em 6K. The races kick off on March 29, and registration closes March 28 at noon.
Registration for the 6K is $45 for students, $55 for faculty and staff and $65 for the general public. Half marathon registration is $65 for students, $85 for faculty and staff and $105 for the general public.
Aside from entry to the race, these prices include a Bearathon T-shirt as well as medals for winners and ribbons for participants. Runners will pick their items up at the race, which begins at 7 a.m. for the half marathon and 8 a.m. for the 6K.
Dallas senior Madeline Kissling, co-chair of Student Foundation’s campus promotion committee, said the rest of the registration cost goes toward student scholarships as part of their mission to serve Baylor’s past, present and future students.
“Fundraising in this event allows for us to help students come to Baylor by providing them with tuition assistance,” Kissling said. “We also get our scholarship recipients to write thank you notes from the previous year, which we include in the runners’ bags so that the runners can see how they are directly impacting Baylor’s students.”
Sandia senior Sharda Delgado said that as Bearathon chair last year, she enjoyed seeing firsthand how special it is to the Baylor community.
“This is one of the biggest events that Baylor has, and a lot of student organizations volunteer to get involved with this student-led event,” Delgado said. “It is always special to see how the entire community can come together for such a good cause.”
Kissling said last year they had 1,735 people sign up for the event and are anticipating more this year.
“My committee and I, which consists of 25 members of Student Foundation, have set a goal of 2,000 people signing up this year,” Kissling said. “I hope we achieve this number since we have all put in countless hours to plan the event and want more people to register so that we can help more Baylor students with tuition concerns.”
Outside of helping students, Kissling said she is most looking forward to the day of the races when she can see the runners out on what is known as the “toughest course in Texas.”
“Last year when some of the members I was with went to fill up water jugs, I would see people I knew as I was driving past them in the golf cart,” Kissling said. “We would give them high fives and scream at them, telling them that they have got this, especially before they enter the hills of Cameron Park.”
Delgado said her favorite memory was serving the runners as the race started before the sun came up.
“While I love getting to see the first runners cross that final bridge and reach the finish line, I also loved getting to provide food for the runners once they are done, like a reward for them,” Delgado said. “It was worth waking up at 2 a.m. and picking up catering from Whataburger, which I got to hand out to everyone later that day.”
For students hesitant about signing up, Kissling said they do not necessarily have to be a runner when they register.
“A lot of people in the past have run and walked throughout the course,” Kissling said. “What is nice about early registration and having the date months in advance is that students can prepare for it, whether that is joining the Waco Running Club or Baylor’s running club or finding a friend who will run it with you and can encourage and support you during training.”
