At age 74, Elder Lawrence Flake, one of the mentors in the Laie Park YSA Ward serving a mission with his wife, ran in the Exercise and Sports Science Student Association’s first official race while sporting a glow-stick headband.
“I forgot about this race. I already ran 6 miles this morning,” he said.
David Sanders, the president of the EXS Student Association, said the run was inside the campus, beginning and ending in the Little Circle, which was filled with music, a tent, black lights, balloons and glow sticks.
Kevin Miller, a BYUH alumnus who helped put on the event, guided the runners to victory by leading them along the course on a bicycle covered in balloons.
Sanders said he had hopes someone would show up wearing a panda suit. No pandas arrived, though there were students dressed in white and neon and there were even a few tutus. The EXS Student Association passed out glow sticks and decorated student’s faces with white face paint.
Sanders said the EXS Student Association was formed about a year ago. This year it is more established and the membership was high enough that this running event could happen. Around 170 people, both students and non-students, participated.
Jon Hooke, a BYUH alumnus, came in first place, followed by Aaron Day, a freshman from California. After Day came Ben Wilson, a sophomore from Canada studying business finance.
Wilson said he used this run to really push himself. “I had no idea how long a 3K is because I do not usually measure my distance or time,” he said.
Leilani Fowlke, a senior from Wyoming studying biology, said, “The Glow Run was a good idea to get people to go do something instead of Netflix. It was a good way to come together as a university.”
Mike Neilson, a senior from California majoring in accounting said, “It was great, and my hammies are now out of control.”
Gina Jeppson, a junior from California majoring in exercise and sports science, helped facilitate the event. She said, “What’s more fun than the Glow Run?”
Flake said, “I actually passed a couple people. I set a new PR [personal record] for slowness!” He continued, “I’m the oldest person here.”
He and his wife said he ran a marathon this past July. He trained by working his way up to 26.2 miles. Flake explained how, one evening, he got to mile 20 and thought, “I don’t want to do this again,” and so he ran the last 6.2 miles. Sister Flake said, “He didn’t get back that night until 2 a.m.”
He explained how at the end of his marathon the last thing he wanted to do was to walk up those stairs at TVA. Instead, he laid down on the grass and fell asleep outside.