MANY STUDENTS joke about the Fourth Year 5K. After all, what college student would rather run three miles than drink some liquor? As emergency room visits and at least one fatality have proven, however, the tradition where some fourth years drink a fifth of liquor before their final home football game is no laughing matter. The Peer Health Educators should be commended for organizing the Fourth Year 5K, which seeks to displace the “fourth-year fifth.” At the same time, the event is just one small step towards encouraging healthy habits, and it must be rethought and revamped if it is to fully accomplish its goal.
The Fourth Year 5K began 17 years ago and has been held as an annual event since its founding. Its goal is to combat the fourth-year fifth by replacing an unhealthy tradition with a much healthier one. In 1997, that goal became even more urgent as fourth year Leslie Baltz died after falling down stairs on the day of the last football game. Her blood alcohol content was .27. While it was never confirmed that she was participating in the fourth-year fifth, binge drinking was the clear cause of her death.
Since then, University students have been urged by many to abstain from such perilous behavior. Students and student groups like the Peer Health Educators have been critical to these efforts. Last year, 143 fourth years ran in their Fourth Year 5K, and students who have participated in the 5K in past years are effusive in their praise for the event. Megan Machich, a fourth year who will be participating this year for the third time, says, “The energy and support are unmatched by any 5K I’ve ever participated in.” Much of this energy comes not just from fourth years, but from spectators and others who run in the race, demonstrating their support for its message.
While the 5K is a clear success from the perspective of those who participate in it, its goal remains somewhat unrealized. Last year, 17 years after the first running of the Fourth Year 5K, according to the University’s Office of Health Promotion, over 300 fourth years attempted the fourth-year fifth.
There are two reasons for the limited success of the 4th Year 5k. First, not all fourth years are interested in running, or even walking, three miles at 8 a.m. on a Saturday. This is clearly the greatest limiting factor in event participation. Many people have never run a 5K, and while many students choose the Fourth Year 5K as their first one, a much larger number simply are not interested.
To put together a true alternative to the fourth-year fifth, an event with more widespread appeal is necessary. This is not to say that the Fourth Year 5K should be scrapped, but instead it should be expanded into a more comprehensive festival-type morning. The 5K should remain a component, perhaps even the centerpiece, but live music, free food, and a festive game-day scene would appeal to many more fourth-years than an 8 a.m. run. The opportunities are limitless, so why stop at a 5K?
The second problem with the Fourth Year 5K is the first two-thirds of its name. By targeting fourth years, organizers limit their ability to encourage healthy habits from day one of the University experience. Ideally, one would imagine, students would abstain from binge drinking starting in their first year. If the Peer Health Educators want to encourage a pattern of healthy choices, instead of trying to fight three years of accumulated habits, they should take a few simple steps.
The first step is to actually reward students who demonstrate healthy behavior by participating. Under the current system, students pay up to $15 and run three miles and in return, as the saying goes, all they get is a lousy T-shirt. A better idea would be to give a free race T-shirt to all finishers and not require any entry fee. While those who consider themselves “runners” would gladly pony up $15 for a 5K, first-time participants and those who are less enthusiastic about the event are likely further discouraged by the fee.
Second, the event should have prize categories for each class, instead of the two current categories of fourth year and all other years. This would show that all students are equally encouraged to participate and would start a healthy, annual tradition where students try to improve their result within their class and each class tries to increase its participation in the race.
All things considered, the 4th Year 5k is off to a good start and by the time you read this, I’ll have run the race myself. Just like any good runner, though, Peer Health Educators should constantly look for ways to improve and not rest on their laurels for too long.
Isaac Wood’s column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at i.wood@cavalierdaily.com.
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