Glow Run dashes toward a gleaming future

Four college students wearing glow-in-the-dark accessories running at night. Art by Wes Mowry-Silverman.

The Willamette Events Board (WEB), Campus Rec and Intramurals kicked off the start of the fall on Sept. 17 with a Glow Run, giving students an opportunity to have a fun, active, outdoor run on a warm, not-so-dark fall evening. 

The Glow Run commenced at the Chicken Fountain, from where students walked and jogged around campus gathering glowsticks, shiny sunglasses, and other glowing items. Members of the triathlon team jogged ahead as some students walked and chatted with friends. Students dashed or strolled around Sparks Field, out to the sidewalks, and north up 12th Street SE, west through State Street and south down Winter Street back to the Chicken Fountain, picking up the various glow items. 

Elisa Michels (’28), who competes on Willamette’s women’s swim team, reflected, “I thought it was pretty fun. I didn’t realize you could walk or run until I did it; it was nice that there were options. I liked the glowsticks we got!” 

The Glow Run was first hosted in March of 2025 and was ushered in with a wonderful Oregonian spring downpour. Only around eight students participated; many that had signed up to join these runners chose to stay indoors to avoid getting soaked. This time around, the Glow Run was met with pleasantly cool weather, not a gray cloud in sight. 

According to Jodi Santillie, advisor for WEB, the student-led organization starts planning events a semester before. Santillie remarked that when choosing events, the group will often think, “Who is the audience that we don’t always reach?” WEB decided to reach out to Campus Rec and Intramurals to collaborate on an event that involved something more active, and after a little brainstorming, the Glow Run was created. 

In order to make events run as smoothly as possible, WEB pays careful attention to details among their planning. For example, when discussing options for items that participants could collect during the run, WEB sought to choose objects that would be fun but not weigh students down. In the end, the team decided on shiny sunglasses, glow stick bracelets and necklaces, and bigger glow sticks — items that were light and easy to put on, freeing up hands and not taking up space.

Another big factor in making the Glow Run happen was WEB’s collaboration with other campus organizations to reach more students. The joining of Campus Rec and Intramurals allowed word to be spread to the sports teams. Marketing members from WEB, Campus Rec and Intramural Sports worked together to make posters, organize sign-ups on the registration program IMLeagues, and connect with facilities to get tables set out. The Student Athlete Advisory Committee made the event a way for athletes to obtain Bearcat Cup Points, enticing more athletes to join. All of these efforts from a wide variety of student organizers resulted in 15 students signing up initially, almost double the participation from the last attempt. When it came time for the run to start, however, 36 people total showed up to participate.

Anya Olsson (’28) said that she believes the Glow Run “is a good way to get people involved in exercising and campus rec.” 

Chloe Maki (’28), who came to attend with Olsson and Michels, said that if the Glow Run were to happen again, she would attend because “it was nice to have an organized campus event and see familiar faces.” 

WEB is seeking to organize another Glow Run next year; they will connect with Campus Rec and Intramurals to discover their opinions on the event. Santillie noted that the growth of student participation between the spring and fall was big, so there is a possibility of the route expanding outside of campus and more into the city of Salem in the upcoming years. 

WEB’s goal is to give students a break from schoolwork stress and allow students to have fun with a feeling of community. With the collaboration and hard work of organizations around campus, events such as the Glow Run have the potential to reach many students. As Santillie remarked, “It seems like something that could grow into a tradition.”