Hundreds of Gators joined Saturday on Flavet Field to race through campus and be pelted with orange and blue dust at The Gator Run.
During the 5-kilometer race, runners passed through a blue or orange zone every kilometer. The race used about 215 gallons of the cornstarch-based powder paint in total.
Ashley Dean, a 22-year-old UF accounting senior and a Gator Run programming director, said the most beneficial factor of the race is the outcome.
Proceeds from the run benefit the Alumni Association, as well as the university in its efforts to become a top 10 public university, Dean said. The event also helped raise funds for art and music supplies for the UF Health Child Life Program.
“Unlike any run on campus, it’s to better both our university and our students,” Dean said. “As the ranking of the university increases in the nation, the value of our diploma goes up.”
Renee Gomez, a 20-year-old UF microbiology and cell science junior, said despite the color powder being hard to wash off, the event was a fun, and he will be back next year.
“In regular races … you just follow the signs. With this run it was really motivational because you have people all along the court being excited,” Gomez said. “(It) makes you run faster.”
This was the group’s second Gator Run. The first was hosted in January of last year.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 2/24/2014 under the headline "Gators pelted with colored cornstarch at Gator Run"]
Participants throw powder into the air to celebrate the conclusion of The Gator Run on Saturday.
