Fourth-year students on their final “Run With Jim” dash through the finish line near the Rotunda on Tuesday. (Photo by Emily Faith Morgan, University Communications)
Around 900 students – a record number of “Run With Jim” participants – laced up their sneakers for the Class of 2023’s final chance to loop around Grounds with President Jim Ryan, despite the cloudy skies and cool temperatures that spread across Charlottesville on Tuesday.
Ryan kicked off the running series shortly after taking office in 2018, thinking maybe a handful of students would join him after his first invitation as president. Instead, more than a hundred did, and the event grew to become so popular that it landed on the bucket list of things for students to do before they graduate.
A lot of students checked off that item Tuesday.
The runners met on the turf of Scott Stadium not long after dawn to take selfies with the president and with each other.
The group started in the stadium, rumbled through the football tunnel and spilled onto Stadium Road. From there, the procession ran around the Aquatic & Fitness Center, jogged by the School of Education and Human Development, and circled the Lawn. The dash ended at the Rotunda with a jaunt under an arch of blue, orange and white balloons.
December 11, 2023
