This past Saturday morning, over 100 students and community members trekked north of UNI’s campus to Big Woods Lake to participate in UNI Dance Marathon’s annual 5K run, dubbed the Colorful Miles for Miracles 5K.

According to Erica Lockin, executive co-director for UNI Dance Marathon, the organization chose to make this year’s 5K event a color run as a way to better incorporate the miracle families for whom they raise funds throughout the year.

“At the heart of our organization is our miracle families,” Lockin said. “They’re the ones throwing color today […] They are the cutest kids ever, and they are so great — so helpful. So, we had contacted them to have them be a part of our day.”

This year, the event was sponsored by the Quarters at Cedar Falls, an apartment complex near UNI’s campus.

“They totally supported us; they donated to us, and it was super amazing so that we could put this on,” Lockin said. “In addition to all of our supplies — our paint supplies, our food supplies for the runners, our t-shirts — that access went to us as a donation. So, it was super awesome that they were able to help us put this together and then know that anything we didn’t spend on supplies for today came back to us as a pure donation.”

Alexis Scharfenkamp, one of the executive co-directors for UNI Dance Marathon, said she enjoys their annual 5K event because it serves as an opportunity for the organization to connect with the Cedar Falls community.

“I really like our annual 5K because I think it’s a really fun way to bring together people from our organization and people on campus and in the community,” Scharfenkamp said. “[They can] have some fun and get to know a little bit about the organization in a really informal way.”

Madison Stalzer, the director of fundraising for UNI Dance Marathon, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing how the event incorporates the miracle families.

“I think this event went really well,” Stalzer said. “It’s a great way to get people all together for Dance Marathon and to just come support the kiddos in a fun color run.”

Lockin said that any money they raised from this past weekend’s run will go towards the fundraising total that the organization presents at their Big Event on March 3rd. On that day, UNI Dance Marathon will write a check to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network.

This money will go towards four areas at the hospital: research, education, equipment and enhancements.