Orange and White Fills Campus at Annual Longhorn Run

By Anabella Cooper

Reporting Texas TV

AUSTIN, Texas – Thousands of students, alumni, faculty and community members gathered along Speedway on April 1 for the start of the annual Longhorn Run.

Participation has more than doubled since the event’s inception in 2010, with 4,736 runners this year.

In 2020, the Longhorn Run turned virtual so runners could follow COVID-19 protocols and still participate. There is still an online option to allow participants to run on their own time. Runners had until April 3 to submit their virtual times.

Registration opened in January and closed March 31.

“I actually registered in the last hour yesterday, kind of a bad idea, so waking up this morning was rough., I chugged a Gatorade and said let’s do this,” UT junior Kieuvy Huynh said.

The race had 5k and 10k routes, and started at 8 a.m. with the 10k runners at the front.  Music blared as the runners sped by, first making their way down University Avenue then through campus. 10k runners went past 27th Street all the way to 44th Street while the 5k circled back to run past Darrell K. Royal Stadium, with everyone finishing back on Speedway.

“I’m just so excited to be back in my home… I’m so glad they are doing this,” said Gauri Dayal, who graduated from UT in 1995.

“I love running through my campus, hearing my bells ringing, all of the memories coming back, studying here, playing here, learning here, growing here, super excited that my kid is here.”

Family and friends stood along the route to cheer for the participants. Some held signs of encouragement and high-fived runners as they passed.

Celebrations took place at the South Mall, where booths with offered snacks, stretching stations, and photo opportunities with Hook’em.

Volunteers handed out protein bars, bananas and Gatorade as participants made their way to the Tower for pictures and activities.

Participants could check their times at a race result tent. Online results showed Immanuel Edwards had the fastest 10k time at 31:20 and Justin Botello ran the fastest 5k at 15:11.

The money raised will go to Student Government and the UT Recreational Sports Excellence Fund, which ensures “future generations of Longhorns have access to high quality facilities, fitness, sport, adventure and play.”